The Man Behind the Smog

BILL CALLAHAN HAS BEEN releasing strange and disturbing records as Smog – both on his own and with various accomplices, most notably erstwhile soulmate Cynthia Dall – since as long ago as 1988. But for all the sterling virtues of intimidatingly homespun earlier efforts like 1993's Julius Caesar, it is in the more formal settings of his later work that his startling gifts are shown to their best effect.