THE LOUDERMILKS
2014 – You Know What?
How do you tell the difference between country rock and alt. country, except perhaps for the fact that one phrase was coined nearly half a century ago, the other a mere quarter century! If it comes to that how do you tell the difference between those two sub genres and country music in general because that seems to range from raw hillbilly to sanitized middle of the road pop. That’s right; they are in the main just promotional labels for music forms that at some stage flow into each other and as such are pretty much meaningless, part of the reason for which is albums such as this superb recording by the Edwards brothers, who seem to have mastered all of the above strands. (except, thankfully for the last one!)
This album has a lovely flow on music that often harks back to the Louvins, Byrds and Son Volt, possibly even Big Star generically, but in actual fact is a blend of all of these, albeit on a subliminal level. There are gorgeous melancholic ballads, upbeat ‘country’ rockers, in fact something for everyone, even approaching power pop on one song. They named the band after the Louvin’s who were actually Charlie and Ira ‘Loudermilk’ and these two modern day brothers can certainly sing and their harmonies, whilst not on the ‘heavanly’ level of the Louvin’s, are certainly better than most, as are their their songs. There are even on occasions echoes of the Gothic country that the Louvin’s were famous for, with at least a couple of the songs having a spooky otherworldly feel.
Alan and Chad Edwards, who hail from Charlotte, North Carolina, were formerly the front men for the highly rated (certainly by me) Lou Ford; in fact eighty per cent of this band were Lou Ford! There is also former Lou Ford drummer Shawn Lynch on bass, and Jason Atkins on piano & organ with former Jolene drummer Mike Kenerley on drums. Fairly obviously they are all experienced musicians and it shows in everything they do, in fact you won’t hear a finer modern update of a ‘country rock’ (etc!) album this year. The songwriting is an even split of five songs credited to each brother, with each of them singing lead on their own songs. To my ears everything about this album is top notch but what lifts it even higher is the edginess the band brings to the music that is probably best described as ‘attitude.’ That is not to say it is overtly aggressive; it’s just that despite the high degree of musical expertise they don’t try to add any polish, simply letting their songs stand or fall without reverting to any over production in the studio. I should add, that every song stands tall!
Watch ‘em Fall kicks off with a nice acoustic guitar and mandolin intro before Alan’s lead vocal comes in, soon joined by bass and keyboards before the weeping steel guitar further enhances the atmosphere on an excellent easy rolling country rocker. Come Along With Me has Chad on lead vocal on a song that is probably best described as an excellent mid tempo honky tonker. The lead and harmony vocals are as usual tremendous, with the steel guitar lead and excellent percussion, with bass and a deep twangy guitar adding a purity that many strive for but very few achieve. Jim Dugan is a gorgeous ballad with weeping steel guitar on a tremendous tale, full of an aching melancholia that really couldn’t be bettered. At times on this song the band reminds me in some ways of June Star or even the sadly missed, the mighty Star City! On Darkness Of Hell the arrangements and the often sublime harmonies give the song a smoky country gothic feel. There is an excellent twangy lead guitar and a slightly spooky keyboard sound accompanied by the occasional intervention of a haunting steel guitar that all combine with Chad’s excellent lead vocals to make this yet another album highlight! The album closer is Georgia Pines a terrific slow moody song guided by the melancholic fiddle on a tale that is a lonely evocation of some of ‘The Band’s best work. The steel guitar is incredibly haunting on a quite stunning, achingly lonesome song, both musically and lyrically.
In view of this brilliant album that has such a natural feel and in a style that is just as natural it may be necessary to invent and name another generic offshoot. This is certainly country music that frequently rocks but is not ‘country rock,’ also often having a noticeable ‘punk’ edge but one that includes great, atmospheric harmonies. The Loudermilks are quite different to much of what we hear from the various edgy offshoots of ‘country’ music so buy the album, become as addicted to it as I am and just enjoy an incredible recording that is not likely to be bettered this year.
http://www.theloudermilks.com/
How do you tell the difference between country rock and alt. country, except perhaps for the fact that one phrase was coined nearly half a century ago, the other a mere quarter century! If it comes to that how do you tell the difference between those two sub genres and country music in general because that seems to range from raw hillbilly to sanitized middle of the road pop. That’s right; they are in the main just promotional labels for music forms that at some stage flow into each other and as such are pretty much meaningless, part of the reason for which is albums such as this superb recording by the Edwards brothers, who seem to have mastered all of the above strands. (except, thankfully for the last one!)
This album has a lovely flow on music that often harks back to the Louvins, Byrds and Son Volt, possibly even Big Star generically, but in actual fact is a blend of all of these, albeit on a subliminal level. There are gorgeous melancholic ballads, upbeat ‘country’ rockers, in fact something for everyone, even approaching power pop on one song. They named the band after the Louvin’s who were actually Charlie and Ira ‘Loudermilk’ and these two modern day brothers can certainly sing and their harmonies, whilst not on the ‘heavanly’ level of the Louvin’s, are certainly better than most, as are their their songs. There are even on occasions echoes of the Gothic country that the Louvin’s were famous for, with at least a couple of the songs having a spooky otherworldly feel.
Alan and Chad Edwards, who hail from Charlotte, North Carolina, were formerly the front men for the highly rated (certainly by me) Lou Ford; in fact eighty per cent of this band were Lou Ford! There is also former Lou Ford drummer Shawn Lynch on bass, and Jason Atkins on piano & organ with former Jolene drummer Mike Kenerley on drums. Fairly obviously they are all experienced musicians and it shows in everything they do, in fact you won’t hear a finer modern update of a ‘country rock’ (etc!) album this year. The songwriting is an even split of five songs credited to each brother, with each of them singing lead on their own songs. To my ears everything about this album is top notch but what lifts it even higher is the edginess the band brings to the music that is probably best described as ‘attitude.’ That is not to say it is overtly aggressive; it’s just that despite the high degree of musical expertise they don’t try to add any polish, simply letting their songs stand or fall without reverting to any over production in the studio. I should add, that every song stands tall!
Watch ‘em Fall kicks off with a nice acoustic guitar and mandolin intro before Alan’s lead vocal comes in, soon joined by bass and keyboards before the weeping steel guitar further enhances the atmosphere on an excellent easy rolling country rocker. Come Along With Me has Chad on lead vocal on a song that is probably best described as an excellent mid tempo honky tonker. The lead and harmony vocals are as usual tremendous, with the steel guitar lead and excellent percussion, with bass and a deep twangy guitar adding a purity that many strive for but very few achieve. Jim Dugan is a gorgeous ballad with weeping steel guitar on a tremendous tale, full of an aching melancholia that really couldn’t be bettered. At times on this song the band reminds me in some ways of June Star or even the sadly missed, the mighty Star City! On Darkness Of Hell the arrangements and the often sublime harmonies give the song a smoky country gothic feel. There is an excellent twangy lead guitar and a slightly spooky keyboard sound accompanied by the occasional intervention of a haunting steel guitar that all combine with Chad’s excellent lead vocals to make this yet another album highlight! The album closer is Georgia Pines a terrific slow moody song guided by the melancholic fiddle on a tale that is a lonely evocation of some of ‘The Band’s best work. The steel guitar is incredibly haunting on a quite stunning, achingly lonesome song, both musically and lyrically.
In view of this brilliant album that has such a natural feel and in a style that is just as natural it may be necessary to invent and name another generic offshoot. This is certainly country music that frequently rocks but is not ‘country rock,’ also often having a noticeable ‘punk’ edge but one that includes great, atmospheric harmonies. The Loudermilks are quite different to much of what we hear from the various edgy offshoots of ‘country’ music so buy the album, become as addicted to it as I am and just enjoy an incredible recording that is not likely to be bettered this year.
http://www.theloudermilks.com/