Citation of the Day
"Q: ”What’s the difference between a musician and a large pizza? A: A large pizza can support a family.”
(Josh T. Pearson played sad songs and told bad jokes when opening for The Handsome Family, Kägelbanan, Stockholm, May 5th 2011)
The other day I stumbled over a new (at least for me) concept, namely “authenticity fetishism”. Without knowing anything about the concept I directly knew that I was afflicted. The symptons are as follows: 1) a quest for purity and committment in the country genre, 2) a very low tolerance for poses, mannerisms and fake expressions 3) a romantic view on a artists struggle for recognition (and to make a living for that matter). After a quick test: I ticked in all three boxes. I didn't just suffer from "authenticity fetishism”. I fully embraced it. However, the "disease" doesn't create any problems in my day-to-day business. On the contrary, it creates rules and guidelines that helps me to cope with all the elevator music that is imposed on me and others. It's also resembles of a AA-meeting: Hello, my name is The Ambassador and I am an “authenticity fetishist”. Guilty as charged. And it feels really good.
Derek W. Dunn's "Poisonous Serpents" has arrived. He sent a note on his FB-page: "US Customs is a bitch" and warned everyone who ordered from outside of the US that it could be a while. Well, all is well that ends well. You can buy the album physically or digitally in the format of your choice at CD Baby, just click on this link.
I must admit that I had my doubts whether "Poisonous Serpents" would come true. Ever since .357 String Band disbanded in november 2011 Derek W. Dunn has been working on the EP. New information and timetables have followed upon each other. But now it's here. Let me start by saying it was worth waiting for. Another very pleasant surprise is that .357 String Band are almost reunited on the album. Billy Cook, Joseph Huber and Rick Ness plays on five, five respectively four of total seven songs. The songs "Let The Bones Be Burned" and "Poisonous Serpents" were destined for the uncompleted fourth album from .357 String Band. However, this is not .357 String Band. Not even .357-nostalgia. It's Derek W. Dunn's album. No question about that. All songs are written and arranged by him and they are all solid. The sound is also partially different from .357 String Band. Despite the fact that he tours and works very hard and ought to be pretty worn-out by now, he brings newness and energy in to the album. The music is varied. There are fast and well-written songs like "Let The Bones Be Burned", "Roll On" and "Hell In Your Cold Cold Heart". In songs like "Snow In The Pines", "Pressure", "Feels Like I'm Blue" and "Poisonous Serpents" he shows great singer-songwriter abilities in the old-school country vein. The lyrics to "Poisonous Serpents" are brilliant (therefore I include them below). The sound quality is also excellent. What more can you wish for? A full-length album from Derek W. Dunn.
Poisonous Serpents
"I've been handling poisonous serpents. I can feel their poison in my mind
Been mislead by a million false prophets. Been seduced by wonders, and by signs
And I been drinking deadly things. I can feel the poison in my veins
I been breathing fire and brimstone, trying to kill the den of vipers in my brain
I put my faith in all the wrong places. Tried to cure my head to heal my heart
Got to lost to find my way home, and walked in circles right back to the start
So now it's time to fight fire with fire. Now it's time to face what I fear most
Cause, I ain't ready to come home yet, Lord - I ain't ready to give up the ghost
So get behind me, Satan, I cast thee out!
Now it's the time to cast out devils. Now it's time to speak in brand new tounges
Now it's time to be re-born and breath new air through these burned out lounges
And they say these signs shall follow - me, I'm still waiting to believe
So for now I'll cast out my own demons; put my faith into what I can see
I'll pluck out the eye that offends me; turn a deaf ear to all their wicked tounges
I'll cut off the hand that offends me; now I know that the hour has come
And now I know it's now or never; I do believe that I can make this change
Placid waters or lakes of fire; it's my choice, I'm going to drown either way
So get behind me Satan, I cast thee out!"
Citation of the Day
"Let’s be honest: this type of music is an acquired taste. I don’t see a lot of major record labels knocking on our doors to get this music out to the masses. It’s always going to be an underground scene, and I think that’s what makes it so interesting."
(Christian Williams about whether digital distribution is positive, neutral or negative for "gothic country")
The Dissolution Orphans was released on March 21, 2014. The "album" consists of demos and unreleased songs and have been recorded under a period of 10 years. At Sons of Perditions website you can read more about the background of each song. Zebulon Whatley has been very clear that this isn't an album in its own right and that the quality of the recordings varies greatly since they were never intended to be released. Maybe, it's not appropriate to review under these circumstances. Anyway, here is my assessment.
The album gives you an interesting insight in the works of Sons Of Perdition. The demos are often rough and when you compare with album versions you realize how much work has been put in to refining the songs. The best example is ”This Land is Cursed” (and it doesn’t depend on the particular poor sound quality on this track). Even in the more developed versions like “Psalms of Withering” and “Lenders in the Temple” this is obvious. Two demo versions of later album versions particularly stand out. “Psalm of Woe” goes very slowly, in an almost liturgical way with chanting and unsettling noises in the background (deliberately put there). “Paying My Debts” goes somewhat slower than the album version. It’s also more dark and brutal than the album version (yes, it’s possible). They are both very suggestive and clearly among the best tracks on the album. There are also some great tracks on the "album" that for some reason never fit in on the Dissolution trilogy (the three official albums). Some examples: the instrumental “Desert Trek” with just barely noticeable choir, lingering guitar and definite bass lines. Probably the best song on the album is “Nowhere”. The song was recorded without a clear aim or purpose. But it would clearly have met the quality criteria for any of Sons of Perditions albums, and probably would have fitted best on the first or the third album. The same goes for “Desert Wind” with choirs, guitar and banjo. Other great songs are “The Trophy Wife”, “Night Passage” and "The Shadow of the Undertaker" which starts off rather joyous (with Sons of Perdition standards). The lyrics, however, quickly set the mood right. There aren’t really any real lows or bad songs on the “album”, but some of them clearly don’t have the same luminosity as the songs on the albums in the Dissolution Trilogy. I'm thinking primarily of the songs “Escape”, “Train Song” and “Flambe”. However, this is a marginal remark. With that being said, “The Dissolution Orphans” is a must-have "album" for everyone interested in the music of Sons of Perdition.