"On record, the Kris Lager Band is so unassuming that it might take you a few songs to realize they're crack musicians with substantial songwriting abilities, rock-solid musicianship, and the kind of exacting sensibility that makes every song distinctive (and distinctly theirs). Then again, would you expect anything less from the band Indigenous frontman Mato Nanji hired for a nationwide tour? Those who reside on either coast might be used to thinking of the Midwest as flyover country, but "Transient" makes crystal-clear that the interior U.S. is a musical crossroads. The Kris Lager Band has a bluesy, rootsy base but builds on it using materials from zydeco, country, gospel, and Latin music. It's not variety for variety's sake, either: The band inhabits the borderland of genre boundaries so comfortably, it's clear that, to them, this is home. That kind of boundary crossing gives "Transient" a cosmopolitan flair that complements its friendly, down-home sensibility. Without sounding preachy or condescending, "I Got the Devil" and "My Own Worst Enemy" detail the darker ills to which humanity falls prey, evidence that Lager and company can serve up gourmet home cooking while respecting the intelligence of their listeners." --- Genevieve Williams