From: Bakersfield / Los Angeles, United States
Regular readers of the Devil's blog will already know all about the wonders of Funeral Club. Well they've got an album out, 'The Year Of The Bloody Sevens' and, as you would expect, I love it. The album is a bridge between Jenny and Joseph Andreotti's old and new bands. A mix of ex Grizzly Owls tracks like 'Save My Soul Conquistador' and 'I'm A Shootist' and a host of new Funeral Club tracks. As such it's not a huge leap from the Grizzly Owls, it's more like the logical next step on the journey.
As you would expect from what's gone before the new album has Joseph twanging away like a lo-fi Morricone while Jenny warbles away like the wayward step sister of Kate Bush and Liz Fraser embellished with the occasional burst of Dylanesque harmonica.
The album gets off to the perfect start with 'The Arrival Of The First Woman' a track that I've already waxed lyrical about and is still on Devil's list of tracks of the year. It still sounds like the Cowboy Junkies being mugged in a dark alley by Nick Cave and it's more menacing than a hoodie with a handgun. 'The Ballad Of Frank' and Dirty Little Billy is more of the same, traditional American folk music seen through a 21st century gothic filter. The one track that really breaks the Funeral Club mould is the langourous, penultimate track 'What Has He Done' where Jenny slips neatly into the shoes of Julee Cruise and Joseph spins a backing track out of the purest silk.
The Year Of The Bloody Sevens is retro yet perfectly on trend, it's Americana taking a walk on the dark side. Funeral Club are on the march.
Go Try
For those of you who have missed the Devil's frequent eulogies on the brilliance of The Grizzly Owls and Funeral Club take a listen to the track that first got the Devil all excited...
MP3 - The Grizzly Owls - What's A Girl To Do
Published with permission of Fanatic Promotion so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.
Go Visit
Funeral Club - Myspace : Website : Last.FM
Go View
Funeral Club
What Has He Done