Aw Come Aw Wry

Vocalist Matthew Houck has the same broken, craggy Peter-Brady-at-puberty voice as Okkervil River's Will Sheff, and some of the music is even reminiscent of Okkervil's, but this Athens band takes things even further from a twangy, rural-route standpoint. The tinkling piano waltzes are infused with both old-fashioned brass and newfangled electronics. Think of it as a trip-hopped bluegrass swing album with more than its fair-share of Van Morrison-style dirges. Sure, the dirges can get heavy at times (the barely moving, thick as molasses "Dead Heat"), but when the harmonies are rich it can be a slow glide into waltz heaven (the ethereal "South (Of America)". Dark and surreal, Aw Come Aw Wry is the hip soundtrack to your own funeral.

back to   Posted July 23, 2005. Copyright © 2005 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.