Ghosts of Blues Folk

I'm about a week late for haunting reviews, but I happened to stumble upon a spooky band this morning and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to pick apart their sound.

The band is the Pine Hill Haints, and they call Alabama home. Before I heard the Pine Hill Haints' new album Ghost Dance, I just thought Jim Morrison was being dramatic and artsy when he wrote "Alabama Whiskey Bar", but actually I think he was picking up on the macabre air of Alabama. The word spirited takes on a double meaning when listening to the Pine Hill Haints. On the one hand, their music is truly celebratory. Songs like "Spirit of 1812" and "Say Something, Say Anything" are the type of campfire songs that would make Morrison's ghost proud. To put it plainly, they rock.

On the other hand, there are the twin covers of Louis Armstrong's "St. Louis Blues" and "St. James Infirmary" which were a little haunting to begin with and which now seem to channel the ghost of Armstrong. This ghost isn't something to fear, per se, actually it's a kind of sad, wan shadow of a blues man with intense musical talent. I enjoy these covers, but more than anything, they make me long for the originals. The strength and exuberance of Armstrong's trumpet is missing from this campfire music, but maybe that's the most fitting way to pay homage to the master. The obvious lack of horn swing makes these songs a little lonely, echoing, and much less hopeful than the originals.

Once you get into the album Ghost Dance you start to realize that it's composed of more than just the ghosts of great musicians. There's a talent here that's still alive and it shines through all of the lurid melodrama of the album. Songs like "I Never Thought The Day Would Come When You Could Hate Me So Dearly" and "Death by Stereo" play up the ghastly theme but are also just incredibly fun songs. The former is a guitar/accordian driven Southern anthem that is filled with the sarcasm of much country music. The lyrics are playful and well-written, but not over-written. The latter - "Death By Stereo" - sounds like it was recorded in a cave, near a swamp, by a hermit. Alright, maybe I'm being dramatic, but this song is far from overproduced. I like the grit and dirt of the percussion and guitar, and I like the intimate feeling that this grime evokes.

There are more than a few great songs on this twenty-song album. I personally recommend "Raggie Taggie Gypsy", "Cuckoo Bird", and "For Every Glass That's Empty". I would also recommend that you catch the Pine Hill Haints live. They're currently on tour, and in an event of beautiful (painful) serendipity they're playing in Boston tonight at TT the Bear's, and I have no one with whom to attend this festival of folk. I hope that my lovely readers have more luck!