Consafos

All the best cowboys have tears in their eyes. With a sleepy nod to the Cowboy Junkies and other early-'90s indie folk rockers, Chicago's Consafos makes Robitussin rock that seems about to collapse under the weight of its own beauty. Over the course of one EP and one full-length, these Angeleno transplants have established a reputation for genre-hopping experimentation, but they're at their best when they stick to the weepy Westerns. Frontwoman Stefanie Drootin's formidable musical talents -- which she has also loaned to Bright Eyes and the Good Life -- are the achy-breaky centerpiece here, recalling the heartfelt vocals and broad emotional range of Madder Rose's Mary Lorson and Bettie Serveert's Carol van Dyk. Equally important are Laura Watral's plaintive violin and Alance Ward's tasteful, self-assured drumming, which carefully avoid the limelight yet are impossible to ignore. Pull up a barstool: Consafos is trying to break your heart.