THE BLOODY JUGBAND –ROPE BURN

With a style unlike any other jug band they have not only burnt their own path through the proverbial musical forest, they’ve set their own damn rules too.

Taking a lot from what I can only gather to be old wives’ tales from the dirty south, twisted tales in the likes of Lovecraft and Poe and smashing it together with traditional jig band instruments, this is a rollercoaster of what can only be described as a “dirty bluegrass” record. Perhaps, dark grass is more appropriate here?

Hailing from the school of Tom Waits, they graduated with honours and a masters in macabre melodies! I’ve enjoyed the jug band since first being introduced to them; I’ve sung their praises before with their last EP’s and Rope Burn won’t find me snapping their albums or disparaging them any time soon.

The new album, Rope Burn, spills out of your speakers and creepily whispers in your ears “We came here to scare you!” So, wrastle up you kin and stoke the burnin pit cause it is time for a good old fashion ho-down!

The Bloody Jug Band – ‘Rope Burn’ Album Teaser

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With a voice as dirty as gravel and as howlin as a wolf, Cragmire Peace has always had a peculiar way of weaving his tales of woe, misery, and those dreaded things that go bump in the night. Rope Burn only perpetuates his power and passion for provocative story telling, all set to a foot stompin, back twisting, air punching rhythm. Backed by the band he is unstoppable. Both lyrically and vocally Cragmire has obtained an almost unearthly knack of finding what a song needs and delivers it.

“So they wrapped a rope around my neck for what I’ve done, a cold dead morning shows a blood red sun”.

Simple imagery, yes -but, powerful imagery. This lovely piece of lyric work can be heard on the ripsnortin track “Jezabellion”. Rope Burn is full of these wonderfully horrid and twisted turns.

With Cragmire being the dark wolf, Stormy Jean would be the forest deer. Her southern gospel voice weaving it’s dance perfectly with Cragmire. Don’t cross this deer though, this deer has some balls. BIG BALLS!

Stormy Jean ain’t just a fancy nickname but a summary of what happens when this vocal powerhouse gets her chords going – it is a veritable thunderstorm! Stormy Jean’s voice carries such weight and what only I can describe as a…bear with me: a forgotten guilt? I’m having trouble putting into words exactly what it is. It’s an almost nostalgic feeling that invokes memories of a past life where you lived on farm and the corn didn’t come so you had to sell your brother for a tractor. I know that sounds like I am taking the piss, but I am genuinely not. I just can’t wrap my tongue around the feeling.

The Bloody Jug Band have really come together on this record. Rope Burn displays their best playing and song writing to date. The mandolins are a melancholic megaforce!

“Volfkiller” is a stand out track, with a furious onslaught of almost biker metal riffs. It’ll agitate your thirst for flesh and blood. Powehouse track “Undertaker” fires up with a chorus straight from the funeral parlour. Hey! You can’t spell funeral without FUN! They should call em FUN-erals. Let everyone dance and have a good time. Hell, get The Jug Band to play.

They could open with “13 Steps”, a ballad of sorts with Stormy Jean pulling in those gospel powers from the past. Then BANG! straight into “Forest of Bloodthirsty Unicorns”. No, it isn’t an episode of Adventure Time. It’s a ballsout, rip ya underarm hair off musical experience.

I’ll let you buy the record and find out for yourself exactly what a great mix of southern gospel, roots, blues and americana this is. Not only is it fun, it is very well executed and insanely accessible. I would even recommend this to those sheltered country fans. The ones who are all about metal but secretly listen to Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings when they get home.

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