Fans of the Bassholes, take note. It’s rising-steam-from-a-boiling-pot, assuredly played roots rock. (Think of John Mellencamp without the self-righteousness and the millions, swapped out with hard luck and potholes, mixed in with the Gories and tenderness.) This is a side project featuring The Gibson Brothers’ Don Howland and Reigning Sound drummer, Lance Wille. Enigmatically and exquisitely packaged with an insert in German (?) and a Rorschach design silk screened on a thick brown cardstock cover, there aren’t many clues as to the who, what, where, and why on the release itself. The A-side’s a Bob Dylan song (you know, the guy who did the voiceover for Yoda and was recently in Victoria Secrets commercials) and one of the two B-side tunes is a nicely muted and rambling retake on a song, “Hell’s Angel,” from the Bassholes’ self-titled album on Dead Canary.
–todd (Fistful of Records)