"all the bar tabs were destroyed in the fire. Once again I was a free man." Documenting romantic decay and deception with typically unflinching honesty, Bill Callahan recounts every painful detail of falling in and out of love over the course of The Doctor Came at Dawn. The album is also musically deep, with understated guitar, piano, and string arrangements that give the rich vocals and lyrics added impact. It might be Smog's darkest collection of songs, but it's also among Callahan's most mature and rewarding.