W&H have only recently been enthusing about the gritty, Scouse take on potent Bluegrass and American folk sounds The Loose Moose String Band are currently displaying when - lo and behold - along come an American outfit of a similar stripe with the intention of bringing traditional, good-time Folk music to a new, younger audience.
Not that the Water Tower Bucket Boys have anything but a deep affection for the roots of this tradition. They may bring an almost Punky aggression to some of their material, but their songs are played on traditional instruments like banjo, fiddle, mandolin and double bass and they are never executed with anything less than love.
Although they hail from Portland, Oregon, if you didn't know any better, you'd probably assume WTTB originate from either upper New York State or maybe Virginia, such is the authenticity of their Appalachian-style Hillbilly/ Roots attack. Their music does (favourably, I might add) recall hallowed names like Bill Monroe and Doc Watson, but their souped-up sound has plenty to recommend it for the uninitiated too.
Much of the material they delve into comes from the Trad. Arr songbook, so while you can rest assured there's a colourful history behind most of these hepped-up tunes, you may or may not remember them from Roots-related songbooks from the past 40 years. This reviewer, for example, remembers 'Rocky Top' from the second Dillard & Clarke album, though he's not so familiar with Hillbilly jamborees such as 'Footprints In The Snow' and the potent, good-time-y 'Before The Sun Goes Down'.
As is the tradition with such God-fearin' music, lakes of fire are ablaze and the gates of hell are frequently creakin' open throughout the album. Songs like 'Home Above' and banjo player Cory Goldman's earthy 'Wide Open Spaces' are tinged with Gospel and followed around by bad luck and trouble. It's not all about fending off Old Nick, though: there's the occasional sad'n'blue straight Country lament (the self-explanatory 'I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome') and sensibly the de rigeur train song ('Southbound Train') keeps on chooglin' very nicely indeed thanks to some spirited fiddling, Walter Spencer's jaywalking bass and some neat harmonica hootin'.
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There are a few original numbers, though you'd hardly notice the join. Fiddler Josh Rabie's 'You Smell Weird' is a particularly smokin' hoedown, although the seat-of-the-pants vocal performance on Walter Spencer's 'Edna Mae' only just about passes muster. No such problem with Cory Goldman's 'Wide Open Spaces', though: it's a mean, banjo-heavy outlaw blues that smoulders with the best of them.
Having gone the DIY route and sold impressive numbers with last year's debut album 'Squid On The Fiddle', The Water Tower Bucket Boys have maintained their independence with this release. They are the kind of performance-friendly band who will surely build upon that success, so if you've any interest in potent, old-time roots sounds, make sure to bait a hook for 'Catfish On The Line'. You'll regret it if you let it become the one that got away.
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