The alternative-rock scene was caught by surprise in 1988 when the Cowboy Junkies released their second album, The Trinity Sessions. After years of relative obscurity, the Canadian combo recorded a mix of self-written tunes and well-chosen covers in an abandoned church with one microphone. The critically hailed result was a brooding Gothic song-cycle, the aural equivalent of film noir. Singer Margo Timmins' languid vocals fill these tales of fatal love and unquenchable longing with both tenderness and tragedy. Her fellow Junkies slink and murmur behind her, serving up country guitar twang along with blues riffs and hints of back-alley jazz. Combining originals like "Misguided Angel" and "To Love is to Bury" with classic material by the likes of Lou Reed ("Sweet Jane") and Hank Williams ("I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"), The Trinity Sessions is a haunting musical portrait of the heart's darkest desires.