THE GOURDS

Noble Creatures

2007-08-06

There was a lot of internet confusion over who actually did the bluegrass cover of ‘Gin and Juice.’ I’ve heard Moe, Phish, and even that it was Phish under an alias of ‘The Gourds.’ Surprisingly no one ever said it was Wilco despite Max Johnston’s association with the band. That band being The Gourds, from Austin Texas. They’ve been on the jam and bluegrass tour circuit for roughly a decade and this marks their 10th album. Noble Creatures shows a matured growth for the band. Many of the songs are down tempo, the bluegrass feel has faded into the background, and there are even a few new sounding tracks. For the new look to number six. Their calls for focus tracks are pretty on point. Numbers one and three are a couple of my favorites but the whole album is definitely worth a listen. But for that old fashioned Austin twang complimented by Kevin Russell’s vocals look no further than number seven. Also, your zydeco fix can be filled by track ten.