ALBUM REVIEW: Dan Carr and the Cure for Asthma - Big Brain Watering Hole
*This review originally appeared in our September 2025 issue*
Photo by Maria Carr
“The songs on this album, while varied, are cohesive in a way that can be described as having a certain ‘style,’ while defying genre specificity.”
There is something I love about simplicity in music. The way a solitary instrument can set the tone for a story, or even tell the entire story itself. That is exactly how Big Brain Watering Hole, the latest from Dan Carr and the Cure for Asthma, begins.
Simple and effective.
In the opening few seconds of this sprawling 20-song double album, the listener is met with a mournful acoustic guitar. The strumming pattern, syncopations and pauses, along with the bluesy riff, sets a scene of solemn tranquility. When the lyrics enter, they are a soft, near-falsetto addition to the guitar's strum. The vocals occupy a space that perfectly matches the lower timbre of the guitar, similar to how a piano player keeps the low-tones rolling with the left hand, while ‘singing’ with the right. The guitar and vocals work as one instrument on “Big Brain Watering Hole”, which had me so locked in that I barely noticed when the steady drum came in.
Slow, mournful and simple, “Big Brain Watering Hole” is such a disarming way to begin an album.
While the opening track is a sweet little acoustic ditty that would sound perfect around a campfire, track two, the more raucous “War Head” sounds straight out of a honky-tonk. A groovy little rockabilly riff and shuffling drum beat make this one stand in contrast to the opener right from note one. An interesting aspect of “War Head" is how the song begins with a rockabilly lean, but evolves into a swelling indie-rocker, all while keeping the same guitar riff – a clever way to showcase Dan Carr and the Cure for Asthma’s unique and fluid musical style.
Speaking of style, the songs on this album, while varied, are cohesive in a way that can be described as having a certain “style,” while defying genre specificity. I’m not sure if it’s the carefully crafted syncopations in the music and lyrics, but there is a familiarity across this album that is worth exploring further.
I’ve always said that unless you create music in a lifelong vacuum, your influences are sure to show through in your songs. While I did sense that familiarity, I found myself having difficulty pinning down any specific influences. While I heard some Jeff Tweedy in there, no songs sounded like Wilco, per se. The same could be said about hints of Tom Petty, and maybe even a little Talking Heads. There is perhaps a whisper of these influences on this album, but the songs are wholly original.
I do want to give special attention to the feat of putting out a 20-song album that genuinely has no filler songs. Every single song on Big Brain Watering Hole has its place to effectively move the record along. Whether it is a guitar-pop sensibility on tracks like “Don’t Believe in Me” or “Do You Wanna be Albany,” soothing ballads such as “In Your Arms” or “Love isn’t Always a Draw,” or songs that encompass both like “Squirm,” this album has little something for everyone.
Dan Carr and the Cure for Asthma’s new double LP is available now on all major streaming services and dancarrandthecureforasthma.bandcamp.com
