2012-11-05
This interesting ensemble's music has been described as "Gothic Folk." How else to introduce a band that does a bluegrass cover of "Don't Fear the Reaper," the Blue Oyster Cult mega-hit of yesteryear? There are many banjo bands barnstorming America, but Bobtown has carved a distinct niche with its choral harmonies, strong percussion and seamless mixture of bluegrass, blues, gospel and folk. This is a shade darker than most Americana groups, a kind-of bluegrass noir, which is evident immediately in the opener, the nearly-a-capella "Mama's Got the Backbeat," a hand-clapping rhythmic gospel-tinged tune. In addition to the "Reaper" cover, another standout to mention is "Battle Creek," again with the rhythmic hand-claps in this worker's lament. While there are a couple of light-hearted songs, for the most part the body count and the despair-o-meter in this set is high. Kudos to this band for choosing the road not taken as it travels the bluegrass musical landscape--and intriguing the listener enough to have them come along for the ride. Michael J. 11/12 F-Neo AmericanaJefferson Ross
Live At Hillbilly Haiku
Ryan Adams
Love is Hell
Donnie Fritts
Oh My Goodness
Natalie Merchant
The House Carpenter's DaughterThe House Carpenter's Daughter
MARK OLSON
The Salvation Blues
TOKYO ROSENTHAL
GHOSTS
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