Dubl Handi
Album: Up Like The Clouds
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 15
Website: http://www.reverbnation.com/dublhandi

Weird band name this – but not only is this Brooklyn-based “new revival” outfit named after an old washboard company, it also signifies the musical collaboration between multi-instrumental percussionist Brian Geltner and banjoist Hilary Hawke. And yet, such is the lively quality of this meeting-of-like-minds that it often sounds as though there’s more than a double-handed presence! The duo’s home-grown Appalachian rusticity and overall rootsiness is accentuated by Brian’s use of eccentric percussion and washboard alongside the trusty snare, while he also picks up an electric guitar, marxophone and mellotron (it says here) at times.

Hilary’s the principal vocalist, and she evidently also skilled on banjo (which she often plays quite percussively) and guitar; hers is arguably the dominant musical personality, to which Brian proves an ideal foil. An especially fascinating moment is provided by the album standout, a beautifully characterised take on Undone In Sorrow (sourced from Ola Belle Reed) which benefits from a mournful trombone line (courtesy of guest Sam Kulik), while to their credit the duo also breathe fresh new life into a number of old-time classics like Shortnin’ Bread and Little Birdie. Katie Cruel, another highlight, receives an intriguing chugalong minor-key setting that utilises tonalities from hammer dulcimer and tambura; the latter timbre also figures large on their atmospheric, modal rendition of New River Train, but this latter track (and more particularly Cluck Old Hen) could’ve done without the imported sound effects, which irritate on repetition.

Hilary also proves herself a good composer of songs and tunes in the true old-time tradition (her Little Orchid and Lonely Ghost could both almost pass for traditional), while the duo also delves respectfully yet with due gusto into staples from the likes of Earl Scruggs, Roscoe Holcombe and Brad Leftwich. I do rather like the raw sense of spontaneity in Dubl Handi’s music-making, for it gives a greater appeal to their inventive arrangements, which otherwise might at times seem just a touch self-conscious. This quality gives them an edge with which to carry the tradition forward into the current fickle climate of acoustic roots music.

David Kidman