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 Caught in the Carousel "There will be music despite everything"
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Billy Catfish
Half A Jug Full = No Deal
Tokyo Rose Records
I'll quickly add that this CD is: "A collection of recordings with THE LONESOME TUMBLERS AND OTHER ASSEMBLED FRIENDS." VP felt that was worth mentioning because it was important enough to put on the front of the CD. I like this CD a lot but it's a bit hard to define. People are calling it country but I think that's for lack of a better genre to assign to it and because there is abundant guitar playing on this record, albeit spare in style. The CD starts out comfortably country with "Cowboy Machine" and "Flashlights and Whiskey" and "Pill Bug Blues." Catfish's vocals are interesting and weary and appealing (and pissed off?) but then the CD takes a right turn and spins itself into something else with "Center of the Earth" becoming a bit of a head banger. Is it my imagination or does the album seem to thumb its nose at contemporary country music from time to time? There seems to be sort of an anarchist thread running through a lot of the cuts, especially evident in "Country Music Needs A Brand New Outlaw." Half A Jug Full= No Deal sort of reminds me of Jim White's Searching For Wrong-Eyed Jesus in it's cryptic, meandering style, quirky vocals and idiosyncratic narratives. Ultimately, after a few listens, I'm still drawn to it with "Strangler" being the tune I'll keep with me…in my right front pocket. Upon re-reading this review, I'm realizing that it's as cryptic and disjointed as the CD itself and you know what? I don't care.
—The Vinyl Princess
www.thevinylprincess.com
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