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Rating: Black.
Black like the visionary delusions of Joy Division. Or like the ink (never sympathetic) of the late Nick Cave. Or like the covers of certain American recordings steeped in every breath of bleak disillusionment, the kind that comes with age and troubles.
Tradition means something firm, immovable. The 16 Horsemen reinterpret it, and beyond the usual Gun Club and Bad Seeds, there are echoes of Gene Clark and Gram Parsons, but also of Django or Clint Eastwood, in short, that slightly epic and slightly cursed country, soaked with the (barely) holy water of a devilish voice - David Eugene Edwards a beggar who alternates between Jeffrey Lee Pierce and even Mark Hollis - brimming with blues up to his neck. Tradition also means telling stories, and indeed this record is almost a concept due to its homogeneity, full of references that tie together the various stations through which the journey winds. The slave destroyed by fatigue who one morning finds the freedom of a horse ("gray like the sky above") and is forced to flee to the farthest horizons. And then stop, think about the past or the future, and contemplate that there's a god up there, there must be. Or more prosaically, a woman who was once there and now is not, or letting go to the euphoria of a girl dancing around the fire at night, rhythm of banjo and festive violins. But there is no peace, the dreams return and torment, until the end through all the sins.
It would be impossible to fully describe the richness of references, the evocative power of the instruments and arrangements used here, violins, cellos, double basses, banjos in addition to the usual guitars and pianos. The density of the lyrics, often incomprehensible at first glance, is also given by the sources: almost half of the songs are traditional, another good part are often bold reinterpretations (Hank Williams). There's not a piece that stands out above the others, no chart-topping single obviously, here we are like in front of a Guthrie book or an old-school Leone film (Sinnerman). Outlaw Song, Alone and Forsaken, Hutterite Mile shine with a black and painful light, marking the path for the 16 Horsemen who will not turn back from here.
Not for everyone, but certainly written for more people than you might think.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Hutterite Mile (04:04)
On from here walkin dreams awake
I think not, I think not
The sky comes king blown in every direction
And of no country
I am straw
It is no mystery
I know my way from here
Iron sharpens iron
Crooked wooden and peacock black
I have your feathers
Slung across my back
I'm not the only one
To help you down the hill
My blue knuckles do as they will
It is no mystery
I know my way from here
It is no mystery
I know my way from here
One as precious as the other
They go with me
Today I am not a false conscience
A tyrant
Angels line my pockets dear
I walk a hutterite mile
Look at me this once
Put an eye to my step
Look and furrow
Its only misery its only ankle deep
It is no mystery
I know my way from here
It is no mystery
I know my way from here
03 Blessed Persistence (04:06)
I changed my mind
And looked no better
Hard of hart blind blind to his higher art
My frustration
My anger in disguise I slip under
I slip under quiet
He spots me anyhow
Chalk up my name
You burn my bridges for me
To a dry and clackin stalk
I swallow stone
They do not recognize inside with them
The locust has no king
Just noise and hard language
They talk me over but I fade slower
On fever
Blessed persistence right under my skin
Blessed persistence
Blessed persistence right under my skin
You burn my bridges for me
To a dry and clackin stalk
Blessed persistence
Nothing comes to mind
Nothing comes to mind
Nothing comes to mind
Nothing comes to mind
Hey chalk up my name
Right under your skin
To a dry and clackin stalk
Nothing comes
Nothing comes to mind
Nothing comes
Nothing comes to mind
Nothing comes to mind
05 Single Girl (02:35)
Single girl - single girl
She's goin dressed fine
O she's goin dressed fine
Married girl - married girl
Wears just any kind
O she wears just any kind
Single girl - single girl
Go to store and buy
O go to store and buy
Married girl - married girl
Rock the cradle and cry
O rock the cradle and cry
Single girl - single girl
Go just where she please
O go where she please
Married girl - married girl
Baby on her knee
O baby on her knee
Single girl - single girl
She's goin dressed fine
O goin dressed fine
Married girl - married girl
Wear just any kind
O wear just any kind
08 Sinnerman (04:15)
o sinnerman where will you run to
sinnerman where will you run to
sinnerman where will you run to
all on that day
run to the mountain
the mountain wont hide you
run to the sea
the sea will not have you
and run to your grave
your grave will not hold you
all on that day
see sinnerman
mountains are falling
sinnerman
the sea it rages
sinnerman
the grave will not hold you
all on that day
run to the lord
lord please hide me
run to the lord
sinnerman
sinnerman
sinnerman
where you gonna run to
all on that day
run to the mountain
the mountain wont hide you
and run to the sea
the sea will not hold you
and run to your grave
the grave will not hide you
all on that day
sinnerman
the mountain is falling
and sinnerman
the sea it rages
and sinnerman
sinnerman
sinnerman
where will you run to
all on that day
the mountain wont hide you
the sea wont have you
and the grave will not hold you
all on that day
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