Published on Dec 11, 2000
Okay, I can now say that I’ve heard
everything.
Remember the late, great Irish band The Pogues? Man, were they a
refreshing drink of water, raucously reveling in their heritage
with some of the best Irish music ever committed to tape. Now,
imagine what would happen if you combined The Pogues with the punk
group The Dead Milkmen, and got Natalie Merchant to do some
vocals.
The end result, Burn Witch Burn, has a sound which is
surprisingly good — no, make that surprisingly
excellent, and their self-titled debut album is the solid,
steel-toe boot in the ass that music so desparately needs.
Until their music starts invading the airwaves like our winged
friends in Hitchcock’s
The Birds, possibly Burn Witch Burn’s trump card is that
they’re fronted by Rodney Linderman — best known as Rodney
Anonymous, formerly of The Dead Milkmen. (Gee, what a coincidence!)
But if you pick this CD up expecting to hear Dead Milkmen-like
punk, you’re in for a wake-up call.
Trading vocals with Vienna Linderman (who also contributes
violin to Burn Witch Burn), Rodney Linderman delivers his
traditional off-kilter, slightly out-of-tune, spoken-like-Dylan
vocals on
Burn Witch Burn… all of which is laid over a bed of
Celtic-influenced acoustic music. With multi-instrumentalist Bill
Fergusson, guitarist/mandolinist Rob Piekarski, bassist Steve
Demarest and drummer Todd Yoder laying down the musical foundation,
there’s only one trail for this band to take – and that’s their
own.
You really wouldn’t expect such a mixture to work, but
Burn Witch Burn clicks from the beginning. Tracks such as
“Beaumont Arkansas,” “How Beth Found Fame,” “Parson’s Farewell” and
“Painting The Furniture Black / Harvest Home” all burst forth from
the speakers like a well-timed fireworks show. The alternating
vocals of the Lindermans are what keep things fresh and flowing
naturally.
Only one mis-step is made along the way; “Treetop Flotilla” is
almost a nod to the Dead Milkmen with its nonsequitur links of
vocals. All that’s missing is the sloppily-loose playing of Rodney
Linderman’s former band to complete the mental picture. It’s the
only moment on the entire album that feels out of place.
But Rodney Linderman is also responsible for the most powerful
song on the disc – “The Mayor’s Story,” complete with its twisted
tale and captivating melody. Somewhere, Shane McGowan is smiling at
this one; it’s just bizarre enough for me to believe it could have
come from his pen.
So who is the target audience for
Burn Witch Burn? Simple: anyone who appreciates good music
that’s well-executed and isn’t afraid to take chances. All these
definitions apply to this band — and I’m sure hoping this is just
the beginning of a long, fruitful career for this group. This album
just came out, and I am already jonesing for their next
release.