The Tillers
Album: Hand On The Plow
Label: Muddy Roots Music
Tracks: 11
Website: http://www.the-tillers.com

The first thing to notice about the latest instalment by the Tillers is the album artwork which fits in perfectly with the album name. You get a man using a plough. It is always clever to relate the album work to the title rather than simply have a picture of the band or something completely unrelated, it settles the listener in more easily and is more welcoming.

The music itself can best be described as stereotypical American country bumpkin. This certainly is not a negative thing (as some see the redneck image in a bad light). In reality every single track on the album is very catchy and will stick in your head for hours after listening. The first track, 'Old Westside' in particular just sets up the pace for the rest of the album.

The music is lively, fast paced and paints an image of a country barn dance ('Treehouse', the album finale really confirms this). If you happen to have any moonshine sitting around then this album is the perfect excuse to crack it open. It consists of three men playing banjos, fiddles, bass and guitars with the occasional harmonica thrown in for good measure. To me the only thing missing is one of those moonshine bottles that people blow on.

The crowning feature, and possibly the key to the success of this band, is the use of vocals to add diversity where perhaps the instrumental parts don't. The thing about using banjos and fiddles is it can risk sounding the same on each track with only a few changes in tempo to spice it up. The Tillers use a mix of vocals to add the real diversity to their album.

For example in 'The Road Neverending' we have a different lead vocalist to 'Old Westside' who has a deeper, more booming voice that sets us a slightly more solemn tone but without becoming unpleasant. We get more examples of how the use of vocals changes the music in 'Can't Be True' and 'Weary Soul'.

Use of the fiddle and vocals in 'Shanty Boat' and the more rock like style of 'I Gotta Move' adds to the cocktail of vocals to give us something similar enough to be comfortable, but varied enough to stay interesting throughout.

Paul Rawcliffe