Cuff the Duke, 'Union' -- 47 Second Album Review

Cuff the Duke have always suffered from a bit of a Rodney Dangerfield complex in the Canadian music hierarchy. They don't have enough hockey-related songs to be as populist as the Tragically Hip, frontman Wayne Petti can't match Joel Plaskett for aw-shucks hoser charm, and the CBC will never love them as much as the Weakerthans, no matter how much they romanticize Oshawa, Ontario.

They forge on, though, and we're probably better for it. The band's sixth album Union breaks no ground that hasn't been long broken before, but nonetheless fits comfortably in a universe bounded by Wilco and the Jayhawks on one end, and Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen on the other.

Union's high-water mark is undoubtedly "Stay," which recalls a certain timeless Orbison-ian yearning. Meanwhile, "Open Your Mind" and "Where Did We Go Wrong" dish languid jam rock along the lines of My Morning Jacket during that band's great Z period. Elsewhere, "Side by Side" plucks along just well enough that you could imagine Cuff the Duke as surrogate Sadies.

As far as quality crafted rock 'n' roll for the jeans 'n' t-shirt set goes, you could do far worse than Union.

The Bottom Line: Dudes with beards and My Morning Jacket fans (if those are different things) will find much to enjoy on this album.