THE SUMNER BROTHERS - THE HELL IN YOUR MIND
2015 - Self Released
Each of the Sumner Brothers first four albums is absolutely essential to any music collection that claims to represent the blend of old time, blues, rock and all round fire that purportedly qualifies as roots music. Now that little lot is topped off by a fifth album that may very well be even better than those four, five star albums! This new recording is quite different to the first four but more in terms of development than great stylistic changes. Whereas those previous excellent recordings included large slabs of what can be termed country music, it was blended with old timey but with the addition of fascinating little snippets of something much deeper and darker that took some of their songs to another level of fire, passion, rock and even at times a cacophony of sound, something this new recording has much more of and is the stronger for that. And yet, despite this they are still recognizably the Sumner Brothers, one brother with a raw backwoods vocal style, complimented by the other with a mellower, almost ethereal feel.
I'm uneasy about putting any sort of generic label on this astounding new album. Certainly you could call it alt. country at a stretch but it isn't really, being more a creation from the myriad of influences this pair of hugely talented siblings have subjected themselves to. The band is comprised of Brian Sumner on guitars and vocals, Bob Sumner, guitars and vocals, Mike Agramovich is also on guitars as well as bass, Mike Ardagh, drums and Elba Crumar - DX7, clarinet, casio. The brothers wrote all of the songs and have, as already mentioned, two entirely different lead vocal styles, with Brians being haunting and mellow and Brians raw and full of fire. It is often Bobs haunting melodic vocal that keeps the album rooted in that loose grab all term, alt country, whilst Brian adds that raw contrasting element that clashes stylistically with Bobs, almost bringing a 'good cop. bad cop' element to their music. Brians voice is as melodic as his brothers but it is their contrast in styles that gives them part of their uniqueness. Also, this is an album on which bass and drums/percussion are far more than just a foundation for the songs, often adding an almost melodic appeal, at other times deepening a powerful grungy cacophony!
This often mesmerizing recording can be said to be a bigger leap forward in their development than could be heard between any pair of their previous recordings and yet at the same time the thread of their influences is just as easily traced, albeit with a much deeper approach, often having an almost avant garde sensibility but still with varying degrees of old timey and country in the mix. Proof if needed that you can take the man (men in this case) out of the country, but can't take the country out of the men.' In varying degrees similar can be applied to other bands but the all round rurality of this band allied to their determination to follow their own natural direction, which differs from anyone else I have ever heard, possibly due in part to their Canadian roots, makes them not only musicians with a huge slice of originality but also totally unique.
The album gets under way with Last Night I Got Drunk, a song that includes an excellent hauntingly mellifluous vocal from Bob that is a total contrast to, and in many ways is dominated by, the repetitive but hugely addictive beat, with the slashing electric guitar creating a slightly sinister atmosphere that is aided by the melodicism of the vocal. Overall that dominant percussion and bass signals the fact, to new listeners and old alike, that the Sumner Brothers have a unique take on 'country music!' The dynamic chugging quality of the song ensures it will live long in the memory thanks also to Bob's mellow vocal. '31 years ago I killed my mother at birth and now my dad hates me' is a lyric that no one else will have thought of but on the haunting and harrowing Giant Song that is exactly what we start with. It continues at a slow moodily haunting tempo, that is until the song gradually takes off and starts to rock in a strange otherworldly sense with a little country edge, all propelled by Brian's raw tortured vocal performance. On It Wasn't All My Fault there is another haunting start with percussion and chiming guitar supporting Bob's melodic lead vocal on a song that has an eerie background layer of strings but otherwise qualifies as a 'country love song,' or as near as the Sumner Brothers are ever likely to get! Finally, Lose Your Mind is a hugely haunting song that is as near mellow as the band has got so far, with the slow moodiness of the song, melodic chiming guitar and Bob's warm vocal. After some of the preceding cacophony on several songs the powerful melodicism is a welcome break and yet the song still has a pervasively dark atmosphere.
With this album they have moved on to music that still has much of their original style but with an extra power over the first four recordings. Two of those recordings 'In the garage' and 'In the garage two' are comprised of outtakes and snippets but such are this bands unique qualities that they are as worthy of your time as any studio produced album. Whilst 'rock' 'cacophony' and 'grungy' have been used in this review no one should run away with the idea that this is just a high quality noise 'fest.' It has powerful, beautifully constructed songs, two excellent vocalists, tremendous playing and arrangements and an intense melodicism that few can match. You might say that all of those elements can be found on many albums, but the Sumner brothers extend the scope of several different genres that fall within 'roots' music, not just to be different, but in a natural development that could well drag other bands along in their wake, although none will be as unique or have the originality of this extraordinary band. I wouldn't even say I like everything on this recording but I do love the album and it will certainly be in my top half dozen albums of the year. After having played the album goodness knows how many times and having loved it from the off, it is still revealing yet more depth and I suspect it will continue to do so far into the future.
http://www.thesumnerbrothers.com/
Each of the Sumner Brothers first four albums is absolutely essential to any music collection that claims to represent the blend of old time, blues, rock and all round fire that purportedly qualifies as roots music. Now that little lot is topped off by a fifth album that may very well be even better than those four, five star albums! This new recording is quite different to the first four but more in terms of development than great stylistic changes. Whereas those previous excellent recordings included large slabs of what can be termed country music, it was blended with old timey but with the addition of fascinating little snippets of something much deeper and darker that took some of their songs to another level of fire, passion, rock and even at times a cacophony of sound, something this new recording has much more of and is the stronger for that. And yet, despite this they are still recognizably the Sumner Brothers, one brother with a raw backwoods vocal style, complimented by the other with a mellower, almost ethereal feel.
I'm uneasy about putting any sort of generic label on this astounding new album. Certainly you could call it alt. country at a stretch but it isn't really, being more a creation from the myriad of influences this pair of hugely talented siblings have subjected themselves to. The band is comprised of Brian Sumner on guitars and vocals, Bob Sumner, guitars and vocals, Mike Agramovich is also on guitars as well as bass, Mike Ardagh, drums and Elba Crumar - DX7, clarinet, casio. The brothers wrote all of the songs and have, as already mentioned, two entirely different lead vocal styles, with Brians being haunting and mellow and Brians raw and full of fire. It is often Bobs haunting melodic vocal that keeps the album rooted in that loose grab all term, alt country, whilst Brian adds that raw contrasting element that clashes stylistically with Bobs, almost bringing a 'good cop. bad cop' element to their music. Brians voice is as melodic as his brothers but it is their contrast in styles that gives them part of their uniqueness. Also, this is an album on which bass and drums/percussion are far more than just a foundation for the songs, often adding an almost melodic appeal, at other times deepening a powerful grungy cacophony!
This often mesmerizing recording can be said to be a bigger leap forward in their development than could be heard between any pair of their previous recordings and yet at the same time the thread of their influences is just as easily traced, albeit with a much deeper approach, often having an almost avant garde sensibility but still with varying degrees of old timey and country in the mix. Proof if needed that you can take the man (men in this case) out of the country, but can't take the country out of the men.' In varying degrees similar can be applied to other bands but the all round rurality of this band allied to their determination to follow their own natural direction, which differs from anyone else I have ever heard, possibly due in part to their Canadian roots, makes them not only musicians with a huge slice of originality but also totally unique.
The album gets under way with Last Night I Got Drunk, a song that includes an excellent hauntingly mellifluous vocal from Bob that is a total contrast to, and in many ways is dominated by, the repetitive but hugely addictive beat, with the slashing electric guitar creating a slightly sinister atmosphere that is aided by the melodicism of the vocal. Overall that dominant percussion and bass signals the fact, to new listeners and old alike, that the Sumner Brothers have a unique take on 'country music!' The dynamic chugging quality of the song ensures it will live long in the memory thanks also to Bob's mellow vocal. '31 years ago I killed my mother at birth and now my dad hates me' is a lyric that no one else will have thought of but on the haunting and harrowing Giant Song that is exactly what we start with. It continues at a slow moodily haunting tempo, that is until the song gradually takes off and starts to rock in a strange otherworldly sense with a little country edge, all propelled by Brian's raw tortured vocal performance. On It Wasn't All My Fault there is another haunting start with percussion and chiming guitar supporting Bob's melodic lead vocal on a song that has an eerie background layer of strings but otherwise qualifies as a 'country love song,' or as near as the Sumner Brothers are ever likely to get! Finally, Lose Your Mind is a hugely haunting song that is as near mellow as the band has got so far, with the slow moodiness of the song, melodic chiming guitar and Bob's warm vocal. After some of the preceding cacophony on several songs the powerful melodicism is a welcome break and yet the song still has a pervasively dark atmosphere.
With this album they have moved on to music that still has much of their original style but with an extra power over the first four recordings. Two of those recordings 'In the garage' and 'In the garage two' are comprised of outtakes and snippets but such are this bands unique qualities that they are as worthy of your time as any studio produced album. Whilst 'rock' 'cacophony' and 'grungy' have been used in this review no one should run away with the idea that this is just a high quality noise 'fest.' It has powerful, beautifully constructed songs, two excellent vocalists, tremendous playing and arrangements and an intense melodicism that few can match. You might say that all of those elements can be found on many albums, but the Sumner brothers extend the scope of several different genres that fall within 'roots' music, not just to be different, but in a natural development that could well drag other bands along in their wake, although none will be as unique or have the originality of this extraordinary band. I wouldn't even say I like everything on this recording but I do love the album and it will certainly be in my top half dozen albums of the year. After having played the album goodness knows how many times and having loved it from the off, it is still revealing yet more depth and I suspect it will continue to do so far into the future.
http://www.thesumnerbrothers.com/