THE RUBBER KNIFE GANG - BROKEN LINES
2015 - Self Released
The Rubber Knife Gang are the trio of John Oaks on bass, banjo, guitar and vocals, Hank Becker, guitar, banjo, mando and vocals, with Todd Wilson on mandolin, guitar, ukulele and vocals. All twelve of the beautifully conceived songs on this album are band originals that exhibit a huge degree of skill and imagination in their varied themes.
There are some very good story songs on this excellent recording that also includes a nice edge of light humour in some of the stories. There is nothing overtly comedic, just an appealing lightness amongst the diverse themes that also include plenty of darkness. There are a variety of stories and emotions covered on this beautifully written, played and arranged album, something you should be able to expect from the folksy Americana genre, but too often on albums the songs are too singular in arrangements and themes and equally often over laden by instrumentation histrionics that serve to show how clever the playing is. That is not so on this album that proves if everything else is good enough you don’t need to prove your virtuosity; it's there for all to bear witness to!
Whilst the playing is always excellent, for me the vocals are the highlight, with warm lead vocals and almost peerless harmonies. There are plenty of vocalists just as good but this trio set the bar high in getting a perfect balance between melodicism and a strong edginess. The album is sparse and all acoustic, stylistically a pretty much ambivalent mix that has folk, bluegrass, old timey, a little blues and much else besides in its unusual make up. It should hold great appeal for all those who appreciate an edginess to their listening pleasure as well as those that like something slightly smoother. In a nutshell; a hugely appealing, high quality, melodic and original roots recording!
Highlights? Everything really, thanks to the diversity that includes something to suit all moods and tastes!
http://www.therubberknifegang.com/
The Rubber Knife Gang are the trio of John Oaks on bass, banjo, guitar and vocals, Hank Becker, guitar, banjo, mando and vocals, with Todd Wilson on mandolin, guitar, ukulele and vocals. All twelve of the beautifully conceived songs on this album are band originals that exhibit a huge degree of skill and imagination in their varied themes.
There are some very good story songs on this excellent recording that also includes a nice edge of light humour in some of the stories. There is nothing overtly comedic, just an appealing lightness amongst the diverse themes that also include plenty of darkness. There are a variety of stories and emotions covered on this beautifully written, played and arranged album, something you should be able to expect from the folksy Americana genre, but too often on albums the songs are too singular in arrangements and themes and equally often over laden by instrumentation histrionics that serve to show how clever the playing is. That is not so on this album that proves if everything else is good enough you don’t need to prove your virtuosity; it's there for all to bear witness to!
Whilst the playing is always excellent, for me the vocals are the highlight, with warm lead vocals and almost peerless harmonies. There are plenty of vocalists just as good but this trio set the bar high in getting a perfect balance between melodicism and a strong edginess. The album is sparse and all acoustic, stylistically a pretty much ambivalent mix that has folk, bluegrass, old timey, a little blues and much else besides in its unusual make up. It should hold great appeal for all those who appreciate an edginess to their listening pleasure as well as those that like something slightly smoother. In a nutshell; a hugely appealing, high quality, melodic and original roots recording!
Highlights? Everything really, thanks to the diversity that includes something to suit all moods and tastes!
http://www.therubberknifegang.com/