THE BLACK TWIG PICKERS - Whompyjawed (Vinyl)
THE BLACK TWIG PICKERS - Whompyjawed (Vinyl)
The Black Twig Pickers take it to the dance floor on Whompyjawed, offering long-form, highly rhythmic and deeply layered takes on traditional fiddle and banjo music. Joined by some of the musicians who frequent the Southwest Virginia square dance and flatfooting scene -- fiddler Sally Morgan, and bassist/guitarists Sam Linkous and Joe Dejarnette -- and by a troupe of accomplished feet-percussionists, the Twigs work up propulsive and mesmerizing versions of two side-long songs. ''Merry Mountain Hoedown'' is an old-time rocker with Mike Gangloff and Sally Morgan's duo fiddles sawing atop a careening bed of pounding feet and furiously locked-in banjo, guitars and bass, while ''Brushy Fork of John's Creek,'' with Sally fiddling and Mike banjo-ing, wanders more spectral -- but no less ferocious -- territory, with Nathan Bowles' washboard and Isak Howell's guitar and mouth harp guiding a long and shifting mix of clattering drone. The Skillet Lickers meet Faust IV? Banjos and fiddles, boards and bones in hand, the Black Twig Pickers dove into a living tradition of old-time music that surrounds their homes along the Virginia/West Virginia line and never looked back. Both scholars of the regional sounds and advocates of an ecstatic and highly personal approach to the music, the Twigs hold down local dance and bar gigs, play all manner of celebrations and every so often, hit the road. Along the way, Isak Howell, Nathan Bowles and Mike Gangloff kept company with some of underground America's heavyweights and haunted the doorsteps of Appalachian fiddle and banjo masters. They've played for the National Council for the Traditional Arts and for audiences overseas. The trio have toured the UK in the company of both Jack Rose and Charlie Parr, accompanying Rose on a series of raucous UK shows to celebrate the Jack Rose & The Black Twig Pickers album released in 2009. Rose and Gangloff were of course longtime band mates in drone masters Pelt, symbolizing the band's emergence into traditional music from a more experimental background (Bowles is also now a member of Pelt and both he and Gangloff perform as part of Spiral Joy Band). They also followed Rose onto Thrill Jockey's books, releasing Ironto Special, an album of traditional Appalachian old-time tunes (and two originals) in 2010. That same year they also released an album of traditional gospel music, Glory in the Meeting House, with Parr contributing his trademark sturdy-but-sweet vocals and resonator guitar. In 2011, the Twigs collaborated with Parr on a Record Store Day split LP for Thrill Jockey, with the flip side featuring recordings from Cambridge, MA based guitarist Glenn Jones. Through study of both local old-time musicians and old-time records and field recordings, the trio have literally come to old-time from leftfield, purely through their love of the music, and found they can hold their own with the old-timers, constantly tearing up the Virginian highways to keep commitments at bars, country fairs and parties, while simultaneously turning on their more avant listeners too. Bowles has also become a powerhouse banjo player of growing repute, with his first solo album in the works. SALES POINTS Following two instantly sold out Record Store Day releases, 2011's Black Twig Pickers/Glenn Jones split LP (Thrill 268) and this year's Yellow Cat 7'' (Thrill 306), the Black Twig Pickers return with two new songs in the form of a limited 12''EP Whompyjawed is nearly 25 minutes of old-time rollicking barn dance numbers packaged in a proper 12'' jacket and limited to only 600 copies worldwide with a free download coupon The Black Twig Pickers keep company with many of America's underground heavyweights and hold their own with the old-timers too; constantly playing at country fairs, barn dances, and even for the National Council for the Traditional Arts The Black Twig Pickers have toured extensively in the US and Europe on their own and also with Jack Rose and Charlie Parr The Black Twig Pickers member Mike Gangloff was a founder of the long running drone/noise/folk unit Pelt (along with Jack Rose). Mike and Nathan still perform as Pelt today and Isak has previously performed in the group as well ''The spirit of true traditional American music... '' - No Depression ''For the Black Twig Pickers, steeping themselves in history doesn't dampen the impact of the music -- it magnifies it.'' - Pitchfork ''Beautifully hand-rendered... '' - Uncut Magazine ''Some of the best old-timey music around. Don't Drink Nothing But Corn,'' is a whooping, grain-alcohol-fueled banjo, guitar and fiddle stomp that'll make you want to immediately hop a freight [train].'' - Magnet ''A serious hootenanny, a back porch, sun-going-down, campfire country folk bluegrass jam session, fiddles, banjos, steel string guitars, all whipping up a wild rollicking country workout, from dark haunting twang to old timey blues, from rollicking hoedown to mournful lament...'' - Aquarius Records ''Exciting old-time music at its finest'' -- Bluegrass Unlimited TRACK LISTING: SIDE A : Merry Mountain Hoedown (13:29) SIDE B : Brushy Fork of John's Creek (10:58)
|
Vinyl release of The Black Twig Pickers - Whompyjawed (Vinyl). Released through THRILL JOCKEY and available on 12in.