It’s nice to hear of someone trying to go up against Colin Meloy of the Decemberists in the literary-indie folk song world.

With Anniversary Club, we get a 4-song concept album called “the devil you know” about a civil war soldier from Texas named John Worth.

The band is the brainchild of Chris Stowe and the new album does not require any previous knowledge of historical facts. Instead, Stowe takes the backdrop of a country getting torn to shreds to tell the story of love, separation and the inevitable pain of a lost loved one.

There’s also something else going on with these songs. The minimalistic songs are complemented with Stowe’s gruff voice, which has the perfect blend of that whiskey-shot, Marlboro-smoked tone that makes songs about war that much more engaging.

You get the feeling that Stowe, somehow, has lived through his own civil war and has found a way to sing about it.

The song below, “The Walk,” is the third on the EP and presents the main character on the verge of death with the photo of his new bride in his hand. It’s an image that easily conjured up and an emotion that many can relate to immediately.

And some how, a song about a dying man thinking about love seems appropriate the day after Valentine’s Day.

Anniversary Club – The Walk
[audio:http://www.52shows.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Anniversary_Club_-_the_Walk.mp

Feb 16 2010 7:00P shady lane basement Johnstown, Florida

Feb 17 2010 8:00P shamrocks pub huntington, West Virginia

Feb 18 2010 8:00P the acoustic cafe johnson city, Tennessee

Feb 19 2010 7:00P the brycc house louisville, Kentucky

Feb 21 2010 7:00P Mixtapes w/ ANNIVERSARY CLUB, BURGER KINGDOM, HEY HELLO, SLAP & TICKLE East Moline, Illinois

Feb 22 2010 8:00P the elbow room chicago, Illinois

Feb 23 2010 5:00P black sheep studios warsaw, Indiana

Feb 23 2010 10:00P duffy’s pub and grub Syracuse, Indiana

Feb 24 2010 8:00P the clancy house grand rapids, Michigan

Feb 25 2010 9:00P cranky’s manatee cleveland, Ohio

Feb 26 2010 8:00P the brig blairsville, Pennsylvania