8 July 2008 :: Listravahungover.

Track Listing

1. Death Prayer in Heaven's Orchard
2. Calling Lightning with a Scythe
3. Roll on the Rusted Days
4. The Hanging Heart
5. Show Business
6. Indians, Whores and Spanish Men of God
7. In Sand and Dirt
8. The Firing of the Midnight Rain

Record Review

Howlin' Rain

Howlin' Rain
(Birdman; 2006)

Rating: 78%
Combined Rating: 77%


If nothing else, 2006 ought to be remembered as the year when “country” was successfully appended to nearly every genre you can imagine. So far we’ve had Country-Gospel (Howe Gelb’s brilliant ’Sno Angel Like You), Country-Funk (Brightblack Morning Light’s great sophomore record), and even the true return of the Country-Songwriter with Neko Case’s haunting Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. It seems only appropriate then that, in the great tradition of Gram Parsons, Neil Young, and especially CCR, psych-country should make a comeback this year. That this comeback should be the doing of members of Comets on Fire and Sunburned Hand of Man is both somewhat strange and, in a way, perfectly fitting.

To have such notorious axe-grinders and experimental noise-mongers working on a record that really doesn’t feel out of place among my Grateful Dead or Allman Brothers LPs has an immediate stink of pandering or, at best, derivative charm. What are these guys doing working on this sort of stuff? What do they bring to the table that wasn’t there to begin with? Perhaps most pressing, what happened to Ethan Miller’s vocal chords to make him sound like that?

These are all legitimate questions, especially the last (my guess: a combination of botched surgery and hot sauce), but ultimately they seem unnecessary. Psych-country isn’t changing or expanding radically here, though the guitar work sure is fun, but I wouldn’t call these guys either derivative or panderers. They have a pretty clear love of this sort of music and just want to play it well. In fact, the only track on the record that feels remotely stale, “Indians, Whores and Spanish Men of God,” does so because it bears too close a resemblance (albeit unintentional) to Howe Gelb’s “That’s How Things Get Done.” Other than that, the songs manage to pay homage to some impressive roots (including Gelb’s Giant Sand, it should be noted), while still letting the experimental side show a bit.

If this all sounds a bit stale, keep in mind that this is some pretty great rock music. “Death Prayer in Heaven’s Orchard” is a swaggering opener, guitar riding heavy on the wah pedal till the band hits the scalding chorus. “Calling Lightning with a Scythe” gives John Moloney and Ian Gradek, the band’s rhythm section, a chance to really build up a head of steam, only for Miller to let loose in a memorable fit of guitar hysterics. “Show Business,” the record’s shortest song, shows the band’s quieter, more pop-inflected side, and lets Miller rest those tortured vocal chords a bit. On the other end of the spectrum, Howlin’ Rain features two songs over the nine-minute mark: “The Hanging Heart” is a balls-out psych-rocker with a bit of a quiet core, while the gorgeous closer feels a bit more like traditional country-rock.

Listening to this record I can’t help but think of modern stylistic comparisons. The easy one would be of Black Mountain’s Zeppelin-copping, Stones-robbing record from last year. But that record was a dull, exploitative rehashing at best. No, Howlin’ Rain fits in better with a band like Dungen (or, and here’s a tricky one kids, The Dukes of Stratosphear). Their work genuinely captures the magic and drive of the original while not just ending up a glorified cover band. It’s a hard balance to maintain, and no doubt there are some who will be less convinced than I, but it’s a worthwhile record and, at the end of the day, an awfully fun rock album. Peter Hepburn :: 7 July 2006 |