THE BLACK TWIG PICKERS – IRONTO SPECIAL
2010 – Thrill Jockey
4.5****
I recently wrote a review of the Black Twig Pickers incredible co-production with Charlie Parr, ‘Glory in the meeting house,’ in which I said that I ‘d just got my copy of ‘Ironto Special’ and was looking forward to playing it. I was immediately struck by it’s infectiously ramshackle feel, to such a degree that it has stopped me from listening to much other new music in the last two to three weeks, in fact there have been a few days when I’ve had it on constant rotation! The three members of this superb band are all highly talented musicians, as they must be to play this acoustic music with any sort of conviction, and yet it is not only their skill, but also an instinctive feel for ‘old time’ music that they have in abundance. The band is made up of Isak Howell, Nathan Bowles and Mike Gangloff who between them play fiddle, guitar, banjo, washboard, jews harp, vocals and various other unidentifiable sounds!
Their enthusiasm is there for all to hear in every song they play and whilst it is a country mile from ‘easy listening’ it is so easy to listen to that if only this music could get more media (i.e. radio, t.v.) exposure maybe more people would start to realize what they have been missing when watching the ‘X Factor’! I know people that hear one song from an album such as this and then write it off as ‘just yeeehaaaaw music’! If only they would approach these incredible sounds without their preconceived notions perhaps talent rather than promotion would start to win out!
This recording is made up of mostly traditional songs, the couple of exceptions being band co-writes Smoker wedding march and Craig street hop, both blending in completely seamlessly. Some of the slightly discordant harmonies, such as those in Last payday at Coal Creek add to the almost harsh, edgy beauty of the album. This is ‘real country music’ that is about as far from Nashville as it can get, but because of the individuality expressed is also incredibly powerful and evocative of ‘old time/hillbilly’ music. Even the slower tunes have an incisiveness that makes the album stand out from the crowd of copyists that have cropped up since the advent of films such as O’ brother where art thou and Cold Moutain. This band represent the edgier, truly authentic sound of ‘old time’ music, bringing an eeriness that at times has a slightly threatening otherworldy feel on many of the tracks, similar to the emotions conjured up by the 1972 movie Deliverance! Tunes like Ducks on the pond, Last payday at Coal Creek, Fire on the mountain and the repetitive Old jack Gillie being examples.
Even a ‘love song’ Saro O Saro is upfront and ‘pushy’ in not only it’s sentiments but also in the performance, with the jews harp forcing its way over the vocals to give an uneasy feeling that all may not be as it seems in the song. Similarly Love my honey I do with its sawing fiddle and vocals that leave no doubt that the singer means every word of the lyrics. You can imagine a local dance in a ‘holler’ of old slowing down for a couple of minutes so that most can catch their breath whilst the band plays Craig street hop for those that still have a little energy left!Finally, Rockin’ in a weary land with its constant ‘thrum’ of a snare in the background and the fiddle fighting it’s way through is evocative of a scene from a march in an American civil war drama where few are expected to return.
So why didn’t I give the album five stars? I’m not sure, but I think probably because there could have been more vocals! (maybe a double album, or a triple, or …..!) In the end an assessment of any album is instinctive, much like the performance on ‘Ironto special’ by this superb band.
www.myspace.com/blacktwigs
4.5****
I recently wrote a review of the Black Twig Pickers incredible co-production with Charlie Parr, ‘Glory in the meeting house,’ in which I said that I ‘d just got my copy of ‘Ironto Special’ and was looking forward to playing it. I was immediately struck by it’s infectiously ramshackle feel, to such a degree that it has stopped me from listening to much other new music in the last two to three weeks, in fact there have been a few days when I’ve had it on constant rotation! The three members of this superb band are all highly talented musicians, as they must be to play this acoustic music with any sort of conviction, and yet it is not only their skill, but also an instinctive feel for ‘old time’ music that they have in abundance. The band is made up of Isak Howell, Nathan Bowles and Mike Gangloff who between them play fiddle, guitar, banjo, washboard, jews harp, vocals and various other unidentifiable sounds!
Their enthusiasm is there for all to hear in every song they play and whilst it is a country mile from ‘easy listening’ it is so easy to listen to that if only this music could get more media (i.e. radio, t.v.) exposure maybe more people would start to realize what they have been missing when watching the ‘X Factor’! I know people that hear one song from an album such as this and then write it off as ‘just yeeehaaaaw music’! If only they would approach these incredible sounds without their preconceived notions perhaps talent rather than promotion would start to win out!
This recording is made up of mostly traditional songs, the couple of exceptions being band co-writes Smoker wedding march and Craig street hop, both blending in completely seamlessly. Some of the slightly discordant harmonies, such as those in Last payday at Coal Creek add to the almost harsh, edgy beauty of the album. This is ‘real country music’ that is about as far from Nashville as it can get, but because of the individuality expressed is also incredibly powerful and evocative of ‘old time/hillbilly’ music. Even the slower tunes have an incisiveness that makes the album stand out from the crowd of copyists that have cropped up since the advent of films such as O’ brother where art thou and Cold Moutain. This band represent the edgier, truly authentic sound of ‘old time’ music, bringing an eeriness that at times has a slightly threatening otherworldy feel on many of the tracks, similar to the emotions conjured up by the 1972 movie Deliverance! Tunes like Ducks on the pond, Last payday at Coal Creek, Fire on the mountain and the repetitive Old jack Gillie being examples.
Even a ‘love song’ Saro O Saro is upfront and ‘pushy’ in not only it’s sentiments but also in the performance, with the jews harp forcing its way over the vocals to give an uneasy feeling that all may not be as it seems in the song. Similarly Love my honey I do with its sawing fiddle and vocals that leave no doubt that the singer means every word of the lyrics. You can imagine a local dance in a ‘holler’ of old slowing down for a couple of minutes so that most can catch their breath whilst the band plays Craig street hop for those that still have a little energy left!Finally, Rockin’ in a weary land with its constant ‘thrum’ of a snare in the background and the fiddle fighting it’s way through is evocative of a scene from a march in an American civil war drama where few are expected to return.
So why didn’t I give the album five stars? I’m not sure, but I think probably because there could have been more vocals! (maybe a double album, or a triple, or …..!) In the end an assessment of any album is instinctive, much like the performance on ‘Ironto special’ by this superb band.
www.myspace.com/blacktwigs
