Bridge City Sinners - Unholy Hymns

We picked this one up at Punk Rock Bowling, as well, and believe it to be their latest, although, again, there is literally no information whatsoever on the sleeve other than the song listings. This does sound closer to the current live band though, with the violin taking the solos in place of the clarinet on the earlier, self-titled CD.

Having said that, the record begins with some great but very un-BCS-like jazzy guitar for "The Devil's Swing", which is definitely based melodically on the Harlem Hamfats "Root Hog or Die", not that that is a bad thing at all! Is it my imagination or is "Rock Bottom" kind of a dramatic, torch version of the Stones' "Angie" mixed with German cabaret and gypsy music? "Departed" is a clever answer song to "St James Infirmary", again with a bit of cabaret swagger, with interesting vocal sweeps'n'swoons, as she sings in almost an undefined European accent and moves quickly from sweet to aggressive. In "Pick Your Poison", they give another upbeat number with a clever arrangement while "Devil Like You" is, again, musically kinda loosely based on "Minnie the Moocher", but just loosely and lyrically it is a old school murder/suicide number with a male singer narrating the murderer's point of view - there's a nice video for this one, as well. "Love of Mine" is gypsy-ish that moves back'n'forth from a basic waltz rhythm to a frantic whirlwind.

"The Legend of Olog Hai Pt 1 and Pt 2" is a bit cumbersomely titled but is a nice piece of drama, almost cinema-esque, with the bowed stand-up and violin giving a pretty string section, until it raves up with piercing shrieks, in a similar slow'n'fast progression as in "Love of Mine". The moody melodies for "The Fear" are truly creative and cinematic, with some flyin' fingering on both the banjo and violin as the song ramps up in a stormy intensity, swirling in a musical maelstrom, with almost death metal shrieks over it all. Things calm down a bit for "The Damned", but only momentarily, as it again turns into a fiercely frenetic bit of Satanic Gypsy madness, and the title track closes out the proceedings with a bit more banjo mixed in with some string interaction and a choral call'n'answer for a full, creative arrangement.

While there are some similarities in their songs, this record seems to show a growth in songwriting and thoughtful arrangements as well as production to create a strong end product. There's a lot of impressive ideas going on here - both musically and lyrically - and it will be fascinating to see where they go from here. Dig it!