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Elly Roberts reviews

Water Tower Bucket Boys: Sole Kitchen

Distributed by
Independent

Released: July 2010

Rating: 8/10

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Country bumpkins havin’ a ball. Think Soggy Bottom Boys, but new.

Apparently the Pacific North West is a bubbling cauldron of activity on the folk music scene.

Now emerging as purveyors of the burgeoning genre, the quaintly named Water Tower Bucket Boys – there’s four of them - strangely with only three seen on the press release – singer Kenny Feinstein on a range of string instruments, equally talented multi-instrumentalist and singer Josh Rabie, Cory Goldman on guitar / banjo and vocals, bassist cum singer Walter Spencer, and session drummer on some tracks, Harley Trotland.

This rootsy collective has been brewing-up storms across their region and Europe with their genuine take on bluegrass belters and soulful balladeering. Equally comfortable belting out square dancing thrills and spills along with tender swooners, WTBB’s has a knack of making you feel engaged right from the start.

Principally, this is because their music and lyrics are ‘real’, with no hint at being pretentious. The album is bursting with plucking banjos and screeching violins whether they be all-out danceable blasts or thoughtful balladeering, and in some cases, they manage both in one song, typically, opener Crooked Road. Fromage is the kinda thing Jed Clampett and family from the Beverly Hillbillies would be bopping to around their swimming pool.

Bread, continues the hoe-down template, with the ensemble firing on all cylinders once again. It’s an invitation to wear your dungarees and check shirt, suck a straw, and twist around the camp-fire, with London Breakdown also keeping up the freewheeling mood. Numb, by comparison, is positively snoozy, but equally delightful, with lashing of banjo wizardry and bundles of melody and lilting vocals, making it the standout track, for me, as it chugs along at a steady pace.

Blackbird….is more of their hoedown ‘gota fria’, turning into a frenetic jamboree with chant-like vocals. Taking the pedal –off- the- metal, a more laidback Goatshead brings a welcome respite as they lumber through a nifty mid-paced ballad, and once again it brings out a greater subtlety than the heads-down approach.

The album closes with their most ‘commercial’ song here, that would make a fine radio edit single. This track will be played on my radio show, THE PLUG on Monday 2 August between 2-4PM at www.calonfm.com .

The verdict – Joy from start to finish.

Weblinks: watertowerbucketboys.com / myspace.com/watertowerbucketboys

The full list of tracks included are :

1. Crooked Road 2. Fromage 3. Telegraph 4. Bread 5. Tequila With Lime 6. Since You’ve Been Gone 7. London Breakdown 8. Numb 9. Blackbird Pickin’ At A Squirrel 10. Sunday Night Roast 11. Goatheads 12. I’m Not A Stranger 13. Heaven

Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.

As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B 37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.

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