For various reasons I have been quiet of late (mainly busy at work) but want to get back to blog business, so thought I would start with something else I have been slow working on - my series of posts on the Uncut 'Sounds of the new west CD', after a longer than intended gap. Got distracted. Anyway......
The Pernice Brothers were another act discovered through this CD which led to a significant musical relationship, first through the purchase of the CD from which 'Crestfallen' came ('Overcome by happiness'), which I really did and still like, particularly the title track. I then worked backwards through their previous incarnation as the Scud Mountain Boys, who made a few albums of low-fi beautiful acoustic country which sounded like it was recorded simultaneously outdoors while in a large barn. While they recorded some lovely cover versions (including 'Wichita lineman' and 'Gypsies, tramps and thieves'), their finest moment for me was the song about breaking up whose central lovely plaintively sung line 'I would give anything to make it with you, just one more time' was ever so slightly undermined by the song's title ('Grudge f**k').
The core of both groups, Joe Pernice, went through several incarnations in several years, in fact (like others on this CD), including solo albums and one under the name 'Big Tobacco' , and I was very happy to see him at least twice live in Cork's much-missed intimate venue The Lobby. On one occasion, he signed my copy of this 'Chappaquiddick skyline' (what a name!), which featured a cover version of New Order's 'Leave me alone' (evidence of the English indie-US Alt Country axis which sort of defines my musical taste); if you don't believe me about the signing, by the way, see the evidence above.
The Pernice Brothers went on to record 'The world won't end' (packed with great pop tunes including 'Working girls (sunlight shines)', which can be seen below, and 'Our time has passed') , 'Yours, mine and ours' and several others which I must admit I failed to follow up on.
I will end with a longer clip of them in concert, ending up with 'Overcome with happiness'.
I will now try and return to this series of posts on a more frequent basis; the Pernice Brothers was as good a place to restart as any!
