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Author: HollowbodyKay
Date: 07-06-12 23:28
Hampton's Lullaby was released in 2010, so it isn't brand new. Sorry.
I heard this in the local Mom-N-Pop the other day (read: several weeks ago) and would have bought it on the spot but the fuckers didn't have a copy in the store. How the hell does that work? And people wonder why illegal downloading is so prevalent?
Don't fret! I waited to buy an actual copy Mr. Lowery! Honest! It's what I do. Want to come see the milk crates full of CDs in my den?
...
I wanted to smack the dude behind the counter for playing music in store that he couldn't sell me, but his saving grace was that this record is the sort worth waiting for and this is a band worth giving your money to.
Allow me to offer effusive praise for these guys. I believe the term "country-as-all-get-out" applies here … so allow me to chuck a hearty "caveat emptor" your way if that's a deal-breaker for you. Otherwise, this is strictly one for the ages. I can't imagine anyone hating this. It's just too damned wunnerful.
It's my suspicion that they're not stupid-sounding enough for Mainstream Country Music. At least not yet. Which is just peachy as far as I'm concerned. I guess these guys get filed under "Alterna-Country?" I dunno.
"Retro-Hayseed?"
"Corn-Pone Indie?"
Sometimes you hear a band and it's almost embarrassing because you know that they're just that good. That's how these guys sound to me. Lots of rousing harmonies, steel guitar on nearly every tune. Not a bum song on the entire album. The sound features the occasional flourish of clattering indie-rock strum-a-rama and post-noise guitar whoosh to let you know that they're not just purists stuck in the past.
It sounds like there are multiple lead vocalists, but the songs that feature whichever Futurebird it is that sounds the most like the guy from Souled American were my favorites. He has that "high lonesome" yowl down perfect.
The other vocalists aren't a liability. It might be that everyone in the band sings. There's a lot of singing going on here. Lots of voices.
Personal highlights include the Pink Floyd heartbeat on the fadeout of the album opener "Johnny Utah" and the wall-of-vocals approach featured to such good effect in "Yur Not Ded." Also, I was hearing a bit of melody copped from Silver Jews' "Death of an Heir of Sorrows" in "Man With No Knees." Just a dollop, really.
Best Song? Probably "Ski Chalet." But let me reiterate: There isn't a bad tune on the entire record.
Oh yeah. They apparently hail from Athens, GA. "Y'all."
...
Anyway, until further notice ... this is in heavy rotation at Chez Kay.
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Author: R. Totale
Date: 07-07-12 17:45
I tried it and wanted to like it, but gave up after about 5 songs. Same problem I have with the Fleet Foxes - the songs may be great, but the (Spotified) sound is lousy, and I can't hear them through the haze of reverb and whatnot. I understand this is on purpose, but it's an aesthetic choice which drives me away.
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Author: HollowbodyKay
Date: 07-07-12 19:29
Quote:
the haze of reverb
Yes, please!
In fact, anyone within lo-fi hollerin' distance is invited to send their suggestions for anything and everything to which the label "the haze of reverb" applies.
I might already own it, but I sincerely thank you in advance.
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