http://fiftycentlighter.blogspot.com/
Next we have
Lace Up Your Workboots from
Boca Chica,
an indie-folk outfit fronted by Pittsburgh songwriter Hollie Pritts.
Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I have a distinct
weakness for femme-folk artists such as Crooked Still, The Be Good
Tanyas, Madison Violet, etc... You can now add Boca Chica to that list,
as the group shares some common ground with all of those artists.
Of
course, they probably wouldn't have caught my ear as much as they did
if didn't delineate a bit from the standard folk fare. Influences here
come from all over the musical map and include artists as diverse as
Gillian Welch, Andrew Bird, and Fleetwood Mac. Just try listening to
"Shake Your Party Dress" without hearing echoes of Mick Fleetwood and
Lindsey Buckingham.
There are other
surprises here as well. A lonesome steel guitar drives the album's
title track and creates a tune that would fit nicely alongside Neil
Young on any playlist. A vibraphone comes along for the ride on the
banjo and cello driven album opener "Lake Erie." The unusual
instrumentation gives the track, which is a meditation on mortality, an
etherial quality that takes it just a notch beyond your standard folk
song. And that's what makes the album as a whole such a compelling
listen. It is folk presented in an unfamiliar form... and well worth
checking out.