I always enjoy listening to new (to me at least) bands although, this band’s own description of their music did lead to a bit of trepidation… ”span the continuum from prohibition era jazz to Appalachian death folk.” Bridge City Sinners hail from the home of ‘Grimm,’ but without any Wesen visible! (That’s Portand, Oregon if you’re not aware of the TV series). They have been releasing music since 2016 and, having delved a bit, I am happy to say that if you add rock, punk and the odd hint of blues into their manic mix, they deserve their place here on RAMzine.
The lineup of Libby Lux (Lead Vocals, Banjolele), Michael Sinner (Resonator Guitar, Vocals), Lightnin’ Luke (Violin, Piano, Vocals), Clyde McGee (Banjo, Vocals) and Scott Michaud (Upright Bass, Vocals) also reveals the mix of instruments they bring to bear (excluding guest horns).
Kicking off the album is the banjo manic ‘Break the Chain’ which is a lot better than that description suggests… think punk country with attitude with a dash of Morricone – add a violin and delicious vocals and you get an irresistible song that may not be easy to categorise, but is very easy to like. ‘Midnight to Vice’ is definitely jazz-based, redolent of hot New Orleans nights but, again, it is fun, well crafted and thoroughly enjoyable. ‘Doubt’ brings in the “death folk’ aspect as the country/blues backing is dispersed by the growling vocals. But then ‘The Crawl’ is back to Beale Street in a lilting, jazzy and thought-provoking song. ‘End Of The War’ has an intro that would have fitted on Coverdale/Page… yes, seriously.
This album may not sit with your rock playlists, but it does fit and provides a lovely excursion away from our traditional riff-driven fare… but all of the songs (even the 41-second ‘Epilogue’) is well worth a listen.
Age Of Doubt is out on 12th July 2024.
