For every genre of music there are different branches. While you've got the broad category of "metal" there is within that the "death metal" "black metal" "numetal", and so forth. It's the same with country music.
With country there is the pop country like Garth Brooks or the Dixie Chicks. There is bluegrass, like Ralph Stanely. Outlaw country like Willie Nelson conjour dark images and free spirits. There is alt.country which is home to just about anything the radio doesn't play.
And then there is 16 Horsepower. They are hard to pidgeon hole, however, they settle in with the alt.country better than anything. Regardless, there are aspects of some of the other branches, for instance the outlaw stuff. The only thing that their music is not is pop.
This cd drones. It sludges with dark and bleakness. If you are looking for sunshine, it won't be found here. Take the dark aspects of Johnny Cash. The way his voice steers the tone and the direction of each song. Then add some goth blackness. Then the image of a depression-era preacher and his message of Hell-fire and brimstone. Lastly, some of the smartest song choices with perfect execution. It's spell-binding.
Most of the songs aren't origional. They cover Hank William's "Alone & Forsaken" and The Carter Family's "Single Girl". Four of the songs are thier own. The rest are various traditonal folk tunes.
The delight of this cd is that it is very rough sounding. The production did not take out the rough edges. The songs still creak and snap. You hear the straining of the voice. The uneven muting of plucked strings. The slap of the strings hitting the fret board.
If you are tired of the polished, radio friendly country that has invaded radio and want something fresh, do yourself a favor and give this a spin.
peace.
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