The Pine Box Boys : "the Feast of Three Arms"

If you like Voltaire and Tenacious D, then you might have a higher tolerance for some of these shenanigans than I. Production wise this album is raw , but not in a punk way. I would expect a little more reverb, as singing about your mom killing her self needs a darker back drop. There is still to much of a skip in the step of "Comfy In My Coffin". Some of the glee that should be toned down here is in the bright voice of their lead singer. Some of the guitar tones work well, but if this was sung in a more ghostly baritone then it much be a much different story. It's not until "That Boy is Trouble" that we get the shadows coming in to create a more sinister atmosphere. "Parmalene" is like many of the other songs in that it is way too happy to sell the lyrical content.

Some of the spoken word interludes seem like they would just take up space on the ole iPod. Sure they are telling a story, but I think the music should do the talking here. So for the sake of this review I am just going to ignore these sections. The blue grass swing of "I Killed the Band", might not make them horror billy , but it is well played. There is more hell-fire breathed into the up tempo "Mighty Mighty Preacher". This narrative is not as bleakly told as Murder By Death's "Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them?"  The murder ballad "the Judge" better than most of the songs. "Rise" finds them returning to a lighter tone that reminds me of the Greatful Dead. I can see neo-hippies smoking pot to this one. There is more of a folk feel to "Dog Named Death". It's a song that is good for what it is, I think how they have branded themselves is deceptive as they would go over much better with the folky flannel shirt crowd that latched onto Mumford and Sons, as well as fans of the jam scene. Aside from the lyrics rarely is anything dark about the music. At this point in the album I think there are certain Dave Matthews albums that have a darker tone than these guys.

After a little spoken word section "Meet My Wife" kicks in. It finds them trying to harmonize up in their falsettos for better or worse. "Blameless" is more of a country ballad.
Maybe their first four albums are a lot darker, some how I doubt it. "Rushee -Roo -Let" has a more rock feel to it. I can hear this going over well with the Widespread Panic crowd.There is some almost proggy drumming to this song. They are more straight up blue grass on the quick paced square dance of "the River" .

Wailin Storms : "One Foot In the Flesh Grave"

Right from the opening croon of Justin Storms this album proves itself to be darker and more melodic than the "Shiver" ep we reviewed earlier this year. When Storms puts more balls into it he of course will draw comparisons to Danzig, who announced he is going to be retiring from touring , so somebody has got to do it. Just in time for Halloween it has enough evil creep in it to accompany the dead leaves and the howl of wind the autumn brings. There is more of a drone to the punk tinged "Ribcage Fireplace" . They push things in an even more punk place when picking up the pace for "Mystery Girl". There is a coat of noise around the songs edges putting them in the zip code of bands like Destruction Unit.

The re-verbed out guitar cries out against the sluggish strum of " Walk" and no, it's not a cover of the Pantera song. It's like a rawer version of what Dax Riggs did in his garage rock days with Dead Boy and the Elephantmen. Their is a very downtrodden lyrical sense thrown against the songs explosive energy that is releases in deliberate pulses. They pack  more sonic propulsion to the kick their brand of cow-punk on "Lost". His vocals break from a croon into more of a punk shout. It breaks down int drums and feedback almost creating a "Bela Lugosi's Dead" vibe. They grow even more rambunctious on " Light as a Feather Stiff as a Board". On first listen this brawler of a song , brushed past my attention with it's punk intensity.  The vocals are spat back and forth from a croon to more of a punk shout.

They close the album with more of a stomp with "German Fur Tails". The guitar cuts with a sharper metallic jangle. He croons more than shouts on this one, leaving the guitar to provide all of the abrasion. While the opening song might make you think this is going to plow the pumpkin patch more than it does, overall, they attack these songs with all the power of punk with some dark and noisy atmosphere shaking the bats from the Bellfry. I'll give it an 8 and see if it is something I find myself returning to. If you have grown out of your Misfits albums and are looking for something to move on to then this is worth your time.

If you are in the Athens area, they are playing the Caledonia on Thursday.