Gothic Americana/ Alt-Country/ Dark Cabaret

Berni · 06-13-2009, 08:08 PM

Hey thanks. Awesome, just awesome.
Have you heard Jeff Finlin? "...Dominated by themes of love and betrayal, death and rebirth, the characters in Finlin's sordid little tales are always leaving -- leaving bad relationships, leaving good relationships, even leaving this mortal vale. If songs like "The Perfect Mark of Cain" or "Waiting on a Flood" seem hopelessly dark, Finlin also imbues Original Fin with the light of faith and..." (snippet from emusic review) Perfect Mark of Cain blew me away when I first heard it a few days ago. Also, I like the group Murder By Death - someone may have already mentioned them. Some of Chris Knight's stuff is pretty dark, too.

Berni · 06-17-2009, 06:37 AM

Looks like the thread died. I found many of the acts you guys recommended. Thanks for the heads up.
Cheers!

333 · 06-17-2009, 10:05 AM

Pete, I'm currently listening the Elliot Brood album you sent me weeks ago. I'm just now gettin' the hang of all this music-sharing and downloading business. Really, thanks to you. Ambassador is an OK listen so far. I think it is because I can't really get into the vocals quite yet. I'm diggin' the instrumentation, just I have a hard time seeing how the vox and instruments complement each other. Next step for me is looking up the lyrics. Update soon. Thanks again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElephantSack

Yeah, as much as I like to go and visit out West, I gotta maintain a certain loyalty to the East. While I might not always live on the East coast or even inside the country, the history that you can still physically touch is very powerful to me.

Seriously, what are you talking about here, dude? Wrong thread?

LoathsomePete · 06-17-2009, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Berni

Looks like the thread died. I found many of the acts you guys recommended. Thanks for the heads up.
Cheers!

The thread never dies, it just has its up days and down days. I've worked very hard to keep it alive and as long as I continue finding new artists, it will stay alive.

333 good luck on the lyrics, there's not much in the way on the Net just because the CD booklets don't have them and Mark Sasso has an interesting singing style. I would highly recommend their follow up to "Ambassador" called "Mountain Meadows".

ElephantSack · 06-18-2009, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 333

Seriously, what are you talking about here, dude? Wrong thread?

I was just talking about what the music reminds me of and what I relate it to and how it makes me feel. You know, and stuff.

crash_override · 06-18-2009, 03:23 PM

16 Horsepower is awesome, recently DL'd the dicog. I'm very impressed and am looking forward to further reco's from your thread here. Keep em' coming.

p.s. That Christian Williams is pretty good too.

Berni · 06-18-2009, 09:21 PM

I agree with you on both of those. Have you heard the Legendary Shack Shakers or the Handsome Family?

Gavin B. · 06-22-2009, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pobodys_Nerfect

Just wondering if anyone else on this forum is a fan of the growing "Gothic Country" trend that's been emerging since the early 2000s. For those who are not aware of this growing trend it's essentially country music that's taken a far more rustic approach to country music and the songwriting has taken a more dark tone. Songs about murder, abuse, alcoholism, and tragedy often make up the song matter. It's a very immursive genre of music, you put on the album and it really stays with you. The best part is that it completely ignores all aspects of what makes up the popular country today (Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, Ryan Adams, etc.) and just does its own thing. Highly recommend looking into this genre if you're interesting in country music. I'll put a list of bands with a link to their last.fm or myspace account at the bottom of this post. I want both the good and the negative feedback, but if you're going to post negative feedback just please make it smart with some idea of what you're talking about, not just "country music is teh suxorz".

edit: I would post links to sites but apparently I'm not allowed to because I haven't made 15 posts, so instead I'm just going to list off some of my favourite bands.

Elliott BROOD
Munly & the Lee Lewis Harlots
Those Poor Bastards
O'Death
Pinebox Serenade

Nick Cave has been playing the Johnny Cash goth for a long time now, most prominently with his 1996 Murder Ballads album. Here's a stunning duet with Kylie Mingogue from that album:

I always thought the Violent Femmes were doing gothic country music when they released their album Hallowed Ground way back in 1984. Here's a couple of vids from that album.:

A lot of your choices are first rate, NP. I've really enjoyed listening to the songs you posted.

Rickenbacker · 06-23-2009, 09:46 AM

Really one of the best dark southern albums that I know is R.E.M.'s "Fables of the Reconstruction (of the Fables)" from 1985; certainly influential to modern "gothic country" artists. Such a moody and complex album, and totally underrated. Conceptually, it tells mysterious stories from the south, that is, the fables of the reconstruction. Check out some highlights.

Spoiler for videos:

crash_override · 06-23-2009, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Berni

I agree with you on both of those. Have you heard the Legendary Shack Shakers or the Handsome Family?

Im on it.

06-23-2009, 09:46 AM	#99 (permalink)
Rickenbacker / Join Date: May 2009 Location: The Conn Posts: 1,338	Really one of the best dark southern albums that I know is R.E.M.'s "Fables of the Reconstruction (of the Fables)" from 1985; certainly influential to modern "gothic country" artists. Such a moody and complex album, and totally underrated. Conceptually, it tells mysterious stories from the south, that is, the fables of the reconstruction. Check out some highlights. Spoiler for videos: I would strongly recommend this album to anyone. __________________ last.fm rym Talk About the Passion - R.E.M.'s Discography Reviewed Last edited by Rickenbacker; 06-23-2009 at 12:37 PM.

06-13-2009, 08:08 PM	#91 (permalink)
Berni Music Addict Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 67	Hey thanks. Awesome, just awesome. Have you heard Jeff Finlin? "...Dominated by themes of love and betrayal, death and rebirth, the characters in Finlin's sordid little tales are always leaving -- leaving bad relationships, leaving good relationships, even leaving this mortal vale. If songs like "The Perfect Mark of Cain" or "Waiting on a Flood" seem hopelessly dark, Finlin also imbues Original Fin with the light of faith and..." (snippet from emusic review) Perfect Mark of Cain blew me away when I first heard it a few days ago. Also, I like the group Murder By Death - someone may have already mentioned them. Some of Chris Knight's stuff is pretty dark, too.

06-17-2009, 06:37 AM	#92 (permalink)
Berni Music Addict Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 67	Looks like the thread died. I found many of the acts you guys recommended. Thanks for the heads up. Cheers!

06-18-2009, 09:21 PM	#97 (permalink)
Berni Music Addict Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 67	I agree with you on both of those. Have you heard the Legendary Shack Shakers or the Handsome Family?