The Doctor Came at Dawn
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 10, 1996
Recorded1996
Genre
Length38:52
LabelDrag City[3]
ProducerBill Callahan
Smog chronology
Kicking a Couple Around
(1996)
The Doctor Came at Dawn
(1996)
Red Apple Falls
(1997)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Robert Christgau(dud)[5]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]
Sputnikmusic3.5/5[8]

The Doctor Came at Dawn is the fifth album by Bill Callahan (under his "Smog" moniker), released in 1996 on Drag City.[9][10] It was re-released in Europe in 2001 by Domino. Callahan's occasional creative partner, Cynthia Dall, appears on the album.[11]

Critical reception

Uncut wrote: "A dark collection of songs, admittedly, but arguably it marked the maturing of Callahan as a songwriter."[12] The Cleveland Scene wrote: "Spare and bitter, its songs conjure closed scenes that hum and bleed with intense sensory details."[13] The New Rolling Stone Album Guide wrote that Smog's "plaintive tunes and self-parodic misogyny both hit new levels."[7] CMJ New Music Monthly called The Doctor Came at Dawn "the bleakest, saddest album of 1996."[14] NME ranked the album at fortieth in their list "Darkest albums ever: 50 of the best."[15]

Track listing

  1. "You Moved In" – 4:34
  2. "Somewhere in the Night" – 2:10
  3. "Lize" – 5:58
  4. "Spread Your Bloody Wings" – 3:27
  5. "Carmelite Light" – 0:42
  6. "Everything You Touch Becomes a Crutch" – 2:34
  7. "All Your Women Things" – 6:47
  8. "Whistling Teapot (Rag)" – 3:39
  9. "Four Hearts in a Can" – 4:12
  10. "Hangman Blues" – 4:49

References

  1. Carew, Anthony. "Top 10 Slowcore Albums". LiveAbout. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  2. Gómez Martínez, Javier (November 27, 2019). "The 35 Saddest Albums Of All Time". Discogs Blog. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  3. "Smog - The Doctor Came At Dawn | Drag City". www.dragcity.com.
  4. Phares, Heather. "The Doctor Came at Dawn - Smog | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  5. Christgau, Robert. "Smog Reviews". Robertchristgau.com. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
  6. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE. p. 571.
  7. 1 2 The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 754.
  8. joshuatree (March 1, 2009). "Smog - The Doctor Came at Dawn (album review)". Sputnikmusic.
  9. Ankeny, Jason. "Smog | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  10. Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 968. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0.
  11. Leibrock, Rachel (April 18, 2012). "Goodbye, Cynthia Dall". News & Review.
  12. "Bill Callahan – Album By Album". Uncut. March 8, 2013.
  13. Scribner, Sara (March 11, 1999). "The Ruminator". Cleveland Scene.
  14. Wolk, Douglas (February 1997). "Second Thoughts". CMJ. No. 42. CMJ Network, Inc. via Google Books.
  15. "Darkest albums ever: 50 of the best". NME. January 19, 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
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