Albino
Bleeding Heart Yard LP
A curio – this little package. Like a musty bottle washed up on the shore from far off climbs, this sounds like it was recorded live in the deep south of the US in a rowdy barroom against a backdrop of much whiskey drinking and table throwing. Eschewing the usual set of references bandied around by a lot of acoustic acts, Albino have clearly been brushing up on their Whiskeytown Records. Which, as far as this reviewer at least is concerned, is a very good thing!
Deploying viscous blues harmonica and beaten acoustic guitars, the band whip up a redneck holler of an album full of country swing, bluegrass stomp, and a deep-fried folk edge to transport the listener away from the rural bliss of the new acoustic movement ( Turin Brakes, King Creosote, etc) and lands them slap bang in the nearest hoedown! Deliciously unique in the UK music scene if you had to name contemporaries – the nearest names that spring to mind would be Nottingham’s GRAIN or the ever-fabulous Republic of Loose.
Albino are clearly a very tight set of musicians, all very comfortable with each other and not afraid to take risks and throw a few oddities into the equation. An unashamed sense of fun seems to emanate from every lovingly plucked string as a weathered holler tells tales of wrong doings, broken hearts, and drunken forays in the night.
The dirty lo-fi production employed also offers a deliciously homespun feel as the dustbowl harmonica sweeping from the speakers sucks the listener in, from where rip-roaring bluegrass has full permission to take off and never quite return from orbit!
So something a little different – definitely, a commercial prospect? Not so much but some of the best music never is. For now, I would be scouring t’internet to find out when I can catch these guys live – and if you have any sense, you’ll do exactly the same!
Guest article from Ben M.
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