PINE HILL HAINTS, THE - The Song Companion of a Lonestar Cowboy (LP)

On the Pine Hill Haints’ latest long-player, The Song Companion of a Lone Star Cowboy, they go there and to other colorful places on the Americana and Appalachian trail. The fifteen song sequence kicks off with “Fall Asleep” and “Back to Alabama,” a fiery pair of rockabilly-meets-Irish-jig rave-ups, then winds through standout tracks like the Bo Diddley-grooved “Pretty Thing,” a pounding tom-tom and fiddle take on the traditional “John Henry” and the catchy, cajun-flavored squeeze box pop of “Lone Star Kid.” There are excursions into Sun Records-style country (“Midnight Mayor” and “Louise”) and swampy blues (the saw-singing “Wade in the Water” and “Downtown Blues,” which features guest J.D. Wilkes on harmonica).

Throughout, Barrier’s strong tenor voice rings familiar and friendly, with deep echoes of everything from John Lee Hooker to Buddy Holly to Johnny Cash. And the band plays with a sense of abandon that comes from thousands of gigs behind them. It all sounds deceptively simple, but anyone who plays music knows better.

The Haints do something very few roots bands can, which is to transcend influences and sculpt age-old sounds into soul music for our time.

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Tracklist

01. Fall Asleep
02. Back to Alabama
03. Pretty Thing
04. Satchel Paige Blues
05. John Henry
06. Lone Star Kid
07. Drop and Fall
08. Midnight Mayor
09. Catfish Blues
10. Fighting For the Wrong Side
11. Stare at the Fire
12. Louise
13. Downtown Blues
14. Wade in the Water
15. Tithy Dunbar