the dark side of alt country

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Parson

Guest
who loves these bands

songs: ohia
magnolia electric company
bonnie "prince" billy
lambchop
16 horsepower
woven hand
iron and wine


this is the kind of music i have been immersing myself with for the past year or so. is anybody else on that tip?
 

STN

sou'wester
My girlfriend is a big fan of pretty much all of those groups. I like Songs:Ohia's Axxess & Ace LP and I'm quite keen on Bonny Prince Billy but I must admit I find more than one album per sitting to be a bit wearing.

I went to see Lambchop and they were just insanely boring. Like the albums though.

Johnny Dowd is fairly dark isn't he? Maybe a bit self-consciously so?

You ever heard Puerto Muerto? I really like the album 'And Your Bloated Corpse Has Washed Ashore' but my girlfriend (the expert) has declared it 'complete shit' but pretty much refuses to explain her position.
 

STN

sou'wester
I s'pose maybe it's more folky than country, but worth checking out in my opinion.
 

soundslike1981

Well-known member
Definitely dig Johnny Dowd, at least the first couple records and live. He's got his act down pat, with the cig hanging precariously from his lips half the time. Plus I loved how his drummer handled the basslines, too, with some sort of foot-keyboard.
 
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dubversion

Guest
country - of most types except big hatted Nashville twattery - is probably the music i listen to most..

agree about Lambchop - they used to be quite good but just slowed to a standstill. And Kurt Wagner's 'what, me?' downhome folksy schtick drives me mental.

Sparklehorse's Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot is probably my favourite album of all time, and the best to be released in the loose world of 'alt country'.

Another vote for Johnny Dowd too - dark as all hell.
 

MankyFiver

Well-known member
have to say im not a huge fan of these bands
remember when they all started and gave them all a listen (maybe cursory) but it never seemed to keep me, found it a bit too contrived but im willing to be proved wrong

oh johnny odowd i heard one track on a cd and completely loved but never got round to exploring more so any recommendations would be much appreciated
 
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Parson

Guest
i dunno jason molina is pretty awesome you should try again some more
 
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Parson

Guest
bonnie prince billy's i see a darkness has the ability to move me to tears every time if i allow it
 
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MankyFiver

Well-known member
ill definitely have another try
just remembered i love the smog lp 'red apple falls' dont know if that qualifies though
 

tate

Brown Sugar
Definitely dig Johnny Dowd, at least the first couple records and live. He's got his act down pat, with the cig hanging precariously from his lips half the time. Plus I loved how his drummer handled the basslines, too, with some sort of foot-keyboard.
Nice to see the affection for Johnny Dowd, as I had no real sense of how well known he might be in the UK. Dowd lives in my town, just saw him a couple of weeks ago, my gf interviewed him for a recent piece she wrote, maybe she'll post the transcript online. As mentioned, Molina is definitely bleak, he transcends the alt-country tag even with 'dark' appended.
 
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Parson

Guest
exaggerating jason's bleakness quite a bit there

even his darkest stuff like didn't it rain has attempts at positive outlook
its about dealing with darkness rather than wallowing in it
 

claphands

Poorly-known member
I love Songs: Ohia. Top five:

1) Didn't it Rain (one of my favorite recordings ever)
2) Ghost Tropic (probably the "darkest" going along with the theme of this thread)
3) Axxess & Ace
4) MEC (really the only full band :country rock" I found compelling)
5) Pyramid Electric Co. (as Jason Molina)

BPB's I See a Darkness has some fantastic moments. Woven Hand's Blush Music is also a personal favorite.

But you already know those. Only other stuff in the alt-country tradition I can think of is borderline "dark" at best. Tarnation have some pretty dark tunes though you might want to check out Paulo Frazer's solo album in which the tunes seem a bit more sparse. Kath bloom and Loren mazzacane connors - 1981-1984 is an incredibly creepy record that definitely gives off more pre-war country feel than "alt-country" but you might be interested in it.

oh yeah, you'll probably enjoy Nick Cave's Murder Ballads if you haven't already heard it.
 
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Parson

Guest
and yeah i've heard tarnation but they're one of the bands that didn't stick with me
sorta like the handsome family and gillian welch and a lot of stuff i checked out before deciding that jason molina and will oldham and david eugene edwards were my absolute favorites

i have yet to check out this dowd fellow however

speaking of nick cave i believe his new band grinderman has their album out by now
 
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dubversion

Guest
Tarnation have some pretty dark tunes though you might want to check out Paulo Frazer's solo album in which the tunes seem a bit more sparse.

i was lucky enough to see Tarnation a couple of times - lovely stuff but i never kept up with the solo releases.
Freakwater were on the first 'proper' country bands I got into - grew out of the Chicago / Louisville axis (something I never quite got my head round) but play pretty straight hillbilly country stuff, often wry and heartbreaking, fantastic harmonies.
 

STN

sou'wester
Has anyone heard the Various Artists compilation 'High Atmosphere'? It's more hillbilly than country but by God is it rocking. It has original versions of Warfare, I Wish My Baby Was Born and Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down all of which were covered by (the rather shit) Uncle Tupelo. It has this incredibly dark acapella on it by Lloyd Chambers (?) called A Conversation With Death in which he sings about a sinner pleading with Death not to take him. He must be about 70 and his voice is all strained and cracked. It's bloody harrowing.
 

claphands

Poorly-known member
oh yeah, hey crisp. I was actually thinking to myself "crisp should post in this thread to rec some stuff" I'm just oblivious
 
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Parson

Guest
Has anyone heard the Various Artists compilation 'High Atmosphere'? It's more hillbilly than country but by God is it rocking. It has original versions of Warfare, I Wish My Baby Was Born and Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down all of which were covered by (the rather shit) Uncle Tupelo. It has this incredibly dark acapella on it by Lloyd Chambers (?) called A Conversation With Death in which he sings about a sinner pleading with Death not to take him. He must be about 70 and his voice is all strained and cracked. It's bloody harrowing.

this sounds fantastic
 
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