If no one else has attempted what folkie Terry Murphy does on his third album, it's a wonder that the idea wasn't on anybody else's mind: a song cycle about Wisconsin watering holes. Murphy's dozen tunes about goings-on in Badger State saloons offer little in the way of dramatic tension, much less drunkenness. But he does emphasize the bonds of friendship and romance those establishments can nurture. With his slightly gravelly, lived-in and casual voice, Murphy fits his material, even on the couple of occasions he amps up his guitar for a more rocking attack. His work possesses its own fond, if not necessarily urgent, charms.
