I totally blame my parents for my love of country music. They saturated my childhood with music relaying terrible stories of cheating men, drinking and impoverished children. I can still remember all the lyrics of ‘Coat Of Many Colors‘ – yes, I’m still traumatised!
Now, however, I’ve moved beyond Kenny, Dolly, Tammy and Patsy, and onto country realms with a slightly less hyperbolic bent. Son Volt and Will Oldham had a lot to do with it (in Will’s various incarnations as Palace Music, Palace Brothers, and Bonnie Prince Billy – I saw him play in Sydney, barefoot, randy and bearded, and utterly wonderful). The first album of The National drew me in precisely because of its booze-soaked, alt-country roots.
But it’s been a long time since I listened to much alt-country, having been distracted by glam rock, indie-whatever, and even *gasp* intelligent dance (read here for a list of awful genres). But when I was figuring out what I wanted to see at the One Of A Million Festival in Baden, I came across Lugano/Zurich band The Lonesome Southern Comfort Company:
…and I remembered how much I love that alt-country, indie-folk tradition. The poignancy of Boris’s viola and the timbre of John’s voice is an incredibly eloquent combination. Wonderful. Needless to say, I can’t wait to see them live now.
The Lonesome Southern Comfort Company play @ One Of A Million Festival, Baden, Friday 10.02.12. Tickets here.
Charles The Bold is out now on On The Camper Records.
