STYLE: Roots/Acoustic RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 136937-20370 LABEL: Chaperone FORMAT: Digital Only Mini-album
Reviewed by Tony Cummings
Take a folk singer from Duluth, Minnesota, Jerree Small; a drummer and producer who was once part of experimental hip-hop group Crew Jones, Sean Elmquist; and a free-form rapper Ben 'Burly Burlesque' Larson and you have one of the most original bands around. "Hymn-like folk spirituals" was how one journo attempted to describe the group's left-of-centre sound while the eight tracks presented here cover topics like family ("Brother"), loss ("Bell") and regret ("Nothing Like") while the in-your-face "God" makes their faith crystal clear. Larson's declarations are sometimes clear, sometimes enigmatic but always intriguing ("Men project the best of themselves into the sky/Where it cannot be much brought to bear") while their eccentric arrangements sometimes resemble the dirge-like numbers of Chicago experimentalists Califone. Not everything works, but the sheer inventiveness of their approach will find a connection with more adventurous listeners.
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