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"Let the River Take Them Home" is the second long-player from Texas septet Pinebox Serenade. Fans of alt-country should probably own this already. If they don't they should pick it up right now.
'Serenade mix indie rock (provided you consider a style that can trace its roots back to The Band indie) with real bluegrass/roots music. Overall they remind me of early (and *very* late, think "Rainy Day Music" era) Jayhawks. But only if the Jayhawks had truly immersed themselves into americana instead of just sitting at the shores of roots music.
All of the elements of good roots music are here: instrumentation (guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo, accordion), arrangement (clever but not pointlessly complex), themes (alcohol, god, love, death). There is a somber (occasionally morbid) view-point here that typifies contemporary gothic-americana/blackgrass music. I enjoy this but I was raised on 1940s & 50s country music (which fell into two camps: good time dance music and white/dark blues). As such where others hear Leonard Cohen or the Pogues I hear Hank Williams. And that couldn't be a better thing.
True the vocals are gruffer than the old country greats, think Mark Lanegan with bits of Eddie Vedder. But not only does the style work perfectly for the music it's acts as a nice sign post that this isn't the bland, safe contemporary pop music that's been masquerading as country music.
When it comes to the songs my personal preferences lead me prefer the circus swirl of "Darkness Falls" and the rough wildness of "The Lash". Though "Bottle and Rusty Blade", "Sons of Soil" and "Witch on the Mountain" all hold their own.
PS: I LOVE this album cover.
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Pinebox Serenade:
http://www.pineboxserenade.com/
http://www.myspace.com/pineboxserenade
Devil's Ruin Records:
http://www.devilsruinrecords.com/
http://www.myspace.com/devilsruinrecords
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