The Howlin’ Brothers & Ten Gallon Bratz. Admiral Bar, Glasgow. 16/10/14

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Fresh from the recent Glasgow Americana Festival The Fallen Angels Club have wasted no time in bringing some more top-notch acts to the city. For the Tennessee trio, The Howlin’ Brothers, this was their first time in Scotland (in the UK in fact), riding the wave generated by their recent album, Trouble, released on Brendan Benson’s label, Readymade Records (and reviewed here). First thing to say about them is that they have probably the coolest hat line up we’ve seen in some time. Straw Boater, black crumpled Trilby and stained Stetson sat atop the magisterial musical skills of Ian Craft (fiddle, banjo, kick drum), Ben Plasse (double bass) and Jared Green (guitar and fancy footwork). Aside from the hats the most pleasing thing about the band was their versatility and the variety of the songs they played. Bluegrass, blues, jug band, Cajun and country all tumbled from the stage with all three taking vocal duties on their respective songs.

From the off it was clear that this was going to be great fun as Craft’s fiddle and Green’s amplified step dancing bounced through the room while Plasse’s risqué Boogie showed that they can slow the tempo and still thrill. In a fairly lengthy set they ploughed through their two albums along with some cuts from their new Sun Sessions EP with the likes of the mighty George Jones country waltz of World Spinning Round and the bluesy swoon of Tennessee Blues standing out. Green’s Louisiana steeped Monroe showed that these Tennessee boys can wade through the bayou while The Boatman Dance positively reeked of chicken scratching’ dirt porch old timey American music and was a delight to see and hear. It was even more invigorating when the band later covered John Hartford’s Julia Belle Swain, another song steeped in Americana lore. Perfectly paced, the band ramped it up towards the end with Pack Up Joe a revved up road song while Hard Times stomped along with a defiant attitude. Ending with a fine Cumberland Gap The Howlin’ Brothers came across as a fine patina stained capture of some of the best rootsiest music we’ve heard in some time and this was reflected in the audience’s participation as the set progressed ’till the end when there were folk dancing at the back and the handclaps and whoops were drowning out the band. Catch them if you have the chance.

The night opened with a fine set from local chaps, Ten Gallon Bratz, high on a recent review for their album, Tales From The Long Shadows from R2 Magazine. Stripped of the album backing they entertained with three guitars and three voices recalling the likes of Poco and (early) Eagles opening with an acappella rendition of Hole In The Ground while Poor Man’s Money resonated with the audience. All in all a fine night.

The Howlin’ Brothers have a few more UK dates coming up http://thehowlinbrothers.com/shows/

The Howlin’ Brothers. Trouble. Continental Rose

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It’s always nice to get an album to review that doesn’t require much dissection allowing instead for 40 minutes of unalloyed wallowing in Mississippi mud with banjos and fiddles flailing away as the band whirl around the Southern States whippin’ up a deal of fun. The Howlin’ Brothers’ Trouble is just such a beast with the Nashville based trio scraping and scrapping their way through old time music with dashes of country, Cajun, and blues in their particular brand of seasoning. Produced by Brendan Benson (of Raconteurs fame) and with guest appearances by Ricky Skaggs and Mike Fried Trouble comes across almost as a Ry Cooder soundtrack with each of the songs worthy of scoring a scene in the likes of Southern Comfort, The Border or The Lost Riders and on one occasion (Pack Up Joe) harking back to the groundbreaking bluegrass accompaniment for Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde. There’s actually a concept of sorts I think with woman trouble at the heart of it judging by some of the lyrics and the intriguing map of a woman’s heart included in the liner note but the overall breadth of the album more than anything reminds me of the early Nitty Gritty Dirt Band who slipped from country to Cajun to blues without pausing for breath.

So the album is steeped in American music traditions but the delivery more than does this justice with the songs leaping from the speakers and grabbing the listener by the feet demanding recognition. There’s a fine sense of familiarity to some of them with Hard Times borrowing a tune from Cocaine Blues while Louisiana brings forth memories of the original Holy Modal Rounders (without their zaniness). With the exception of the “country dub” song Love which jars somewhat in the midst of its siblings each and every one of the songs here is a cracker. Put It Down is a call and response old time rag tune while Boogie is a risqué funky country blues. Night and Day has a devilish slide guitar as the band zip along before the comforting “jolieness ” of the gumbo soaked Monroe with its zydeco allure . World Spinning Round is solid country tears and beers with lonesome fiddle and weeping pedal steel on a song worthy of Willie Nelson. Troubled Waltz continues in the Nelson vein with its saloon piano familiar to anyone who has heard Spirit while a gnarled guitar spurts and stammers proving this to be the highlight of the album. A seventies breeze blows through the lilting Sing A Sad Song which recalls the Texas troubadours of the early outlaw movement while the band end the album with a revivalist clap happy Gospel refrain on Yes I Am before the tent shuts up for the night.

As we said at the beginning the songs don’t need to be interpreted, this album’s not aimed at the head however it’s guaranteed to have your soul uplifted and feet a tappin’.

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