Hillfolk Noir
Album: Pop Songs For Elk
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.hillfolknoir.com/

One of the joys of doing these reviews, apart from listening to the music, is uncovering interesting but ultimately useless facts while during the research. For instance, did you know that, despite being mentioned in the opening line, Boise, Idaho wasn't the location for the events that inspired the Lynyrd Skynyrd song What's Your Name? Or that Boise is home to the largest Basque community in the U.S. and the fifth largest in the world?

What has this got to do with anything? Well the Idaho state Capital is where Travis Ward, Alison Ward and Michael P. Waite call home. Collectively they are known as Hillfolk Noir and their latest album, Pop Songs For Elk is due for UK release at the beginning of August.

The music Hillfolk Noir play draws on a range of styles from old time country through ragtime & Hillbilly delta blues with a healthy dose of Psychedelia thrown in for good measure.

If you're wondering what the Hillfolk Noir sound is like, imagine a shack beside a dusty road somewhere between Oklahoma and California. Inside the shack Tom Joad, Ma and Pa Joad, George Milton and Lennie Small are sat at a counter listening to a 3 piece band. That band is Hillfolk Noir.

Pop Songs For Elk is a collection of songs all written by Travis Ward and the rest of the band and, modern themes notwithstanding, all of them wouldn't sound out of place on a compilation of songs from the Great Depression. There is also a strand of dark humour running through the album that is immediately evident on the first track, North Idaho Zombie Rag which, to your reviewer, wouldn't sound out of place on a Handsome Family album.

The second track, Round I Sing/Mile On Up is, despite it's pure American roots, has a sound that is very reminiscent of Stick In The Wheel.

Pop Songs For Elk is not without it's tender moments. Poor Man's Love Song, as the title suggests, has the protagonist declaring his devotion to beloved in the only way he knows how. My Train, however, is the most moving song on the album as Alison Travis sings a dying mother's fond farewell to her family.

The darker side of life also makes an appearance in Little Sadie, a classic murder ballad sung in the first person and, in which, the protagonist is strangely unrepentant about the fate of Sadie.

Other album highlights include Uncle Jake, which is reminiscent in its storytelling and theme of the traditional American song Old Dan Tucker. Woods On Fire is a tale of trying to go fishing whilst the local forestry is being consumed by a conflagration.and Gettin Late is a modern tale of a 7/11

A special mention must also go to the album's closing track, Sniffin Glue Blues. If Pink Floyd with Syd Barrett had been a Jug Band, then this is what they would have sounded like.

The overall old time country style of this album is not just down to the music and songwriting, the production plays its part too. Recorded live onto half inch tape with no overdubs or layers, and just a hint of reverb, Pop Songs For Elk was mixed in Mono as well to produce an as authentic feel to the whole project as possible.

In Pop Songs For Elk, Hillfolk Noir have created an album that is an enjoyable and addictive listen, I have had it on in the car for over a week now and still haven't tired of its eclectic mix of traditional American styles and production values with 21st century subject matter. If you like your Americana with a hint of dark humour then this is the album for you

David Chamberlain