Prosyletization on behalf of the Silver Hearts
(Adapted from the sent mail file, a rant about a band that always deserves a bit more word of mouth...)
Saw this entirely, bizarrely brilliant band a while back... and now that they've managed to be entirely amazing several times in a row, I figure it's a reliable enough trend that I should agitate a bit on their behalf.
The Silver Hearts outta Peterborough are a... they're a...
Okay. I've no idea what to call them. The best you could do for a genre is roots 'n' blues with some ragtime thrown in, but that's a little like saying Apocalypse Now! is a war movie. As in, they're not a roots 'n blues band. They're a bizarre and unprecedented and frequently wildly beautiful re-invention of the genre, and mix a handful of other traditions in with that.
And the end result, contrary to what you might expect, is actually anything but a cheesy novelty act. Actually, it's a frequently soulful, powerful, moving performance. (I mean, when they're not performing their signature "Love is Like a Monster Truck". Which is, okay, obviously quite gleefully and intentionally cheesy.)
They're ten to thirteen players on the same stage, depending a bit on the evening. Including (I kid you not) a sousaphone, a trombone, a theremin, a guitorgan (yes, really), a harmonica, an accordion, a dobro... and after that, it gets kinda weird, so I'll stop before I scare you. But I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention the sugar-and-kitchen-knives-voiced Patsy Cline devotee who adds her own special touch of heartache to some of the onstage sonic chaos.
The theremin and the sousaphone, by the way, are fixtures, not novelties trotted out here and there. They colour the sound through much of the act, and you get that spooky/raunchy Tom Waits cemetary polka thing happening a lot. Which leads me to the description on their website, which is probably the best you can do to get at the sound short of hearing it:
"A mixture of western roots, tin-pan-alley, blues and ragtime that has been described at various times as a "beer orchestra", "ghost town western music", "music for an Irish wake" and "a brothel blues orchestra", The Silver Hearts take forgotten music and reinvent it with a new sense of style and vitality."
... and yep, that's about right. And when they cover Tom Waits (which they seem to do fairly frequently), it sounds a lot like Tom Waits. And it's great music to drink to. And their CD's damned good too, and that's a lot more than I expected from a band whose live energy seemed so much part of the chemistry... the disk I've got (Our Precious City) really showcases the fact that not only can these guys write songs, they can play them with an entirely impressive musicality that really shines through in a good headphone meditation session.
Now. I don't usually gush about live music. Pretty jaded about it, last decade or so, really. But for these guys, I'll make an exception. If you like Waits, see them. If you like roots, see them. If you just want an excuse to get drunk with a lot of very odd and interesting people, see them.
Their site's at http://www.thesilverhearts.com.
This ends the prosyletization.
Saw this entirely, bizarrely brilliant band a while back... and now that they've managed to be entirely amazing several times in a row, I figure it's a reliable enough trend that I should agitate a bit on their behalf.
The Silver Hearts outta Peterborough are a... they're a...
Okay. I've no idea what to call them. The best you could do for a genre is roots 'n' blues with some ragtime thrown in, but that's a little like saying Apocalypse Now! is a war movie. As in, they're not a roots 'n blues band. They're a bizarre and unprecedented and frequently wildly beautiful re-invention of the genre, and mix a handful of other traditions in with that.
And the end result, contrary to what you might expect, is actually anything but a cheesy novelty act. Actually, it's a frequently soulful, powerful, moving performance. (I mean, when they're not performing their signature "Love is Like a Monster Truck". Which is, okay, obviously quite gleefully and intentionally cheesy.)
They're ten to thirteen players on the same stage, depending a bit on the evening. Including (I kid you not) a sousaphone, a trombone, a theremin, a guitorgan (yes, really), a harmonica, an accordion, a dobro... and after that, it gets kinda weird, so I'll stop before I scare you. But I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention the sugar-and-kitchen-knives-voiced Patsy Cline devotee who adds her own special touch of heartache to some of the onstage sonic chaos.
The theremin and the sousaphone, by the way, are fixtures, not novelties trotted out here and there. They colour the sound through much of the act, and you get that spooky/raunchy Tom Waits cemetary polka thing happening a lot. Which leads me to the description on their website, which is probably the best you can do to get at the sound short of hearing it:
"A mixture of western roots, tin-pan-alley, blues and ragtime that has been described at various times as a "beer orchestra", "ghost town western music", "music for an Irish wake" and "a brothel blues orchestra", The Silver Hearts take forgotten music and reinvent it with a new sense of style and vitality."
... and yep, that's about right. And when they cover Tom Waits (which they seem to do fairly frequently), it sounds a lot like Tom Waits. And it's great music to drink to. And their CD's damned good too, and that's a lot more than I expected from a band whose live energy seemed so much part of the chemistry... the disk I've got (Our Precious City) really showcases the fact that not only can these guys write songs, they can play them with an entirely impressive musicality that really shines through in a good headphone meditation session.
Now. I don't usually gush about live music. Pretty jaded about it, last decade or so, really. But for these guys, I'll make an exception. If you like Waits, see them. If you like roots, see them. If you just want an excuse to get drunk with a lot of very odd and interesting people, see them.
Their site's at http://www.thesilverhearts.com.
This ends the prosyletization.
posted by AJM at 9:38 p.m. (Permanent Link)
