Pine Hill Haints - Ghost Dance

I've been rantin'n'ravin' about the Haints since I first saw them a couple of years back and I think I have now caught up with their official releases (although there may be some that have escaped me). This is their third album, this time out on K Records out of Olympia, WA, and it continues with their unique consummation of styles that form the Haints' own "ghost music".

The songs are loose'n'open, with plenty of breathin' space for you to to fit right in with Jamie's southern vocalizin' and sparsely effective guitar work. He is accompanied by the usual crew - especially his right hand gal, Katie on mandolin, washboard and saw - with simple drums and washtub bass addin' emphasis where needed.

Besides the usual Louisiana/Nawlins' sounds, there's short'n'sweet, chuggin' folk-punk numbers ("Spirit of 1812", "For Every Glass That's Empty" - a great chant-along - and the lengthy-titled "I Never Thought The Day Would Come When You Would Hate Me So"), mid-tempo tunes ("Say Something, Say Anything") Haints' versions of trad blues (their arrangement of "St Louis Blues"), Bo Diddley lifts ("Phantom Rules" is "Hey Mona"), whereas "When You Fall" could have been done by the Everly Brothers, "Death By Stereo" is fast-paced acoustic punk, "Garden of the Dead" puts bassist/banjoist Matt on lead vocals for this bouncy, old-country tune (I dig his gruff-edged voice as a foil to Jamie's) and "Whisper in the Dark" owes a melodic debt to, of all things, "Teenager In Love" (not a bad thing, by any stretch!).

They get pretty traditional on the slower country number "You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond" (kind of a variation on "Don't Leave No Flowers on my Grave"), "Catfish Angels" is melodic folk, they take their own stab at "St. James Infirmary", then do a nice acoustic/electric arrangement of the trad "Cuckoo Bird" (references to "Jack O'Diamonds" here, as well), "Columbus Stockade Blues" is another trad number, this time done in a high-energy, bluegrass-style, Matt's "Walkin' Talkin' Deadman" is similar to his other fine banjo songs like "My Bones Are Gonna Rise Again", Jamie's tenor banjo highlights the sparse'n'moody ballad "Ol' White Thang Blues" (that, while Jamie wrote it, its melody hearkens back to an old trad tune, "Raggle Taggle Gypsy" is an upbeat Celtic jig with a guest female vocalist dueting with Jamie, which is appropriately followed by "Leo O'Sullivan Blues" that was recorded in Ireland before concluding with Jamie's "Wake Up".

Another excellent set from the Haints - always a pleasure!