The Perch Creek Family Jugband takes us back to a simpler time with their latest album Tall Tales.
Against a modern music landscape their unusual sound is a real revelation. It borrows elements of country, jazz, folk, and blues and blends them together in an exciting cacophony of sound. The instrumentation is lush and organic, with a harmonica, fiddles, piano, banjo, mandolin, and even the saw and xylophone working together in unexpected harmony.
The instruments give The Perch Creek Family Jugband’s music a great old-timey base, but the vocals and quirky lyrics provide a little modern flair. I love the way the family shares around the vocal duties. All the voices are so capable, and their various tones give the songs unique flavours. The individual vocals are strong, but when they combine on numbers like “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” and “Goodnight Irene” the harmonies are sublime.
At 15 tracks Tall Tales is a fairly lengthy album, but the variety of the songs ensures it never drags. Despite their wild differences there’s not a bad one amongst them. The upbeat singalong qualities of “The Good Old Mountain Dew” put a particularly wide smile on my face, and who could resist their stellar rendition of Cab Calloway’s “Minnie the Moocher”? The gentle strains of the final song “Matilda’s Lullaby” puts the album to bed nicely.
Tall Tales is 15 tracks of fabulous fun. The Perch Creek Family Jugband are taking the musical path less travelled, but when they produce an album of such quality it’s hard to argue with their unique approach.