Singer-guitarist Ryan Sollee and the boys of the Builders and the Butchers haven't lost their innate ability to make you feel super-jazzed and completely unsettled at the same time.
âDaddy went out to the yard last night and he was dancing on his very own grave,â Sollee sings on trackâs opening moments, amid the chugging rhythm and boisterous clamor. âThey gave him the box, the shovel and the cross/You get the hammer and the nails, boy.â
The dark, sweeping number billows for more than four minutes, mellowing only slightly before its relentless conclusion of dual drums, guitar and ping-ponging wails. It will surely make for a rousing singalong when the band hits a string of shows across the United States this summer.
Building upon its third album, 2011âs excellent Dead Reckoning, the band seems to be bringing all of its Portland-honed guns to the table for this next release. Members of Federale, Albatross and the Portland Cello Project all play guest roles in the albumâs liner notes, as does new sonic instrumentation. I guess busking actually does pay off.
Western Medicine officially drops on July 2 on Badman Recording Co., but Iâm sure you can snag a copy of the album at the bandâs release show at Mississippi Studios on June 22.
WWeek 2015