It's Called Call And Response, Baby....

The Broken Family Band - Alone in the Make-Out Room

I have a bit of a soft spot for country ballads, especially when they are sung with acid tongues, and this is one of my favourites...
I guess you get the feel of the song after the first line sung by Steven Adams...
"I want you to die with my hands round your throat, or with me in the castle and you in the moat, and everyone you know stood around laughing"...
And don't think Steven has this all his own way, as this is a call and response song with Angela 'Piney Gir' Penhaligon who more than has her own say with lines like "I wanna watch you swing from a tree, or fry in a chair while you're looking at me, and everyone in the world will be glad when you're gone..."
It's one of the best call and response songs I've ever heard, and I have to agree with Uncut. In their review they said about 'Alone in the Make-Out Room' "it makes "Fairytale Of New York" seem like Doris Day/Rock Hudson fluff"...
Spot on.

This track is taken from their 'Balls' album which was released last week on Track & Field, and this is where me and Uncut fall out as they gave the album 4 out of 5, and I'm giving it 5 out of 5.
It's one of the best albums I've heard in ages, ranging from the ballady Make-Out Room to the full on jump about loonyness of You're Like a Woman.
They've been compared a little bit to Pavement, that's pretty close I guess, and off the top of my snotty cold filled head I can't really come up with a better comparison...
Yep, first day of my two week holiday and I have a bloody cold... bugger!
Anyway, listen to these tracks from them and make up your own mind.
And I defy you not to be singing along with the chorus "How do'ya think you're going to get me home, you ain't got any cigarettes, cigarettes, cigarettes, cigarettes, no" and playing air guitar whilst jumping round on your bed doing scissor kicks while trying not too bang your head on the ceiling, stopping occasionally to blow your nose...
Erm!

'Alone In The Make-Out Room' is released today on 7" vinyl, but with Angela's vocals re-recorded by Eddi Reader, I've not heard this version yet, so can't possibly comment, but I'm going to...
It will have to be some performance to for Eddi Reader to better the album version.

The Broken Family Band - You're Like a Woman

The above two tracks are taken from 'Balls', which as you've probably already realised you should own, but they've released a couple of mini-albums and another couple of full length ones too.
The Broken Family Band have a wonderful knack of writing great lyrics combined with catchy as hell tunes... A pretty rare thing I recon.
And although the two tracks I've picked are what you could possibly call frivolous and lighthearted, they also write beautiful songs too, the album is packed with them...
Like the wonderful 'I See How You Are' and 'It's All Over' which builds into a glorious crescendo that any noisy indie band in the world would be proud of, and as for 'I'm Thirsty', bloody hell what a wonderful noise....
I've really struggled to try and pick my favourite tracks from this album, and I know that as soon as I've clicked publish I will have changed my mind yet again.
I can't possibly put into words how much I love this album, there is seriously not a bad track on it, or anything even approaching a bad track.


The following track is from 2005's 'Welcome Home, Loser' album, yet another cracking album, It's not as full on as Balls, a bit more of the country hoe-down feel to it, and without too much of the noisier side emerging, but never the less it's another beauty...

The Broken Family Band - Honest Mans Blues

So there we are, The Broken Family Band...
A band I've only just found myself, but a band I'm going to stick with until the end...
Hopefully not at the end of a rope though.... (remember to insert smiley so as not to worry my mum!)
And besides, I want to stick around and see what they do next.
I might not have to wait too long as they are already recording a new album...
Wooo...!


Buy - The Broken Family Band - Balls from Track & Field
Visit - The Broken Family Band
Visit - The Broken Family Band @ MySpace
Visit - The Track & Field Organisation


Simon
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