The band Gob Iron, which is British slang for harmonica, is a side project of Son Volt's lead singer Jay Farrar and Varnaline founder Anders Parker. After the first listen of this album, I was reminded of Farrar's former band, Uncle Tupelo's album March 16-20, 1992. The reason for this is that, like March 16-20, 1992, Death Songs for the Living is an album of American folk standards in which Farrar and Parker give their take on these traditional songs. They include new lyrics or new musical arrangements that make these songs their own. There are also instrumental interludes mixed in between the reconfigured songs. I usually do not like it when artists include these instrumental tracks, but they really work on this album. While I think that March 16-20, 1992 is a better album, Death Songs for the Living is a strong album, and it's the kind of music that I like hearing from Jay Farrar.
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