Description:
Along with the Waco Brothers, the Blacks (a.k.a. the Black Family) are among the more compelling bands on the far irreverent left of alternative country. With bass bang, guitar scrape, and drum quake, these Chicagoans seem to pick up where X left off, though the Blacks' nightmares are more romantic than political. Their Bloodshot debut has its hazards: the gear-grinding punkabilly riffs seem dated, the yodeling comes off as a sneering joke, and Gina Black's satanic wails simply cause pain. But Danny Black's snake oil delivery--he sounds like a mean Marshall Crenshaw--is more convincing. And when harmonies spill from the seams,
Along with the Waco Brothers, the Blacks (a.k.a. the Black Family) are among the more compelling bands on the far irreverent left of alternative country. With bass bang, guitar scrape, and drum quake, these Chicagoans seem to pick up where X left off, though the Blacks' nightmares are more romantic than political. Their Bloodshot debut has its hazards: the gear-grinding punkabilly riffs seem dated, the yodeling comes off as a sneering joke, and Gina Black's satanic wails simply cause pain. But Danny Black's snake oil delivery--he sounds like a mean Marshall Crenshaw--is more convincing. And when harmonies spill from the seams, the band finds just the right dirty, chaotic nonchalance. Purists will be shocked by the black mass they make of Bill Monroe's "I'll Meet You in Church Sunday Morning," but the song rocks. Their punk aesthetic isn't always so inspired, but the insinuating, bass-bowed murder ballad "Dear Little Girl" and swinging acoustic "Tortured Holiday" come close. --Roy Francis Kasten
Album Description
This is hardcore cowboy jazz, with ample flourishes of cabaret, Doors-like rock 'n' roll, ragtime, and primordial country blues. It manages to simultaneously spiral back to the beginnings of American roots music as well as rocket to a grimy, lurid future.
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Manufacturer: Bloodshot Records
Release date: 22 September 1998
EAN: 0744302003924 UPC: 744302003924
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