In August of 1997, the Smithsonian Folkways label re-issued the Anthology of American Folk Music, the mythical collection of pre-WWII tuneage first released in 1952. The following May, Greil Marcus’ book Invisible Republic, a book ostensibly about Bob Dylan’s Basement Tapes but really about the Anthology and the lost parochial America that produced it, was published. Together, these two documents served as a time-traveling roadmap backwards for a generation of alt.country fans looking for something newer, older, and heavier than Uncle Tupelo and the Jayhawks. What they found in the Anthology and Marcus’ book was a cascade of humanistic information constructed somewhat like an old, abandoned house where every room held a fascinating artifact that provided a glimpse into a lost, yet inhabitable, world. This world appealed very much to young urban dwellers, people whose jobs and lifestyles were succinctly opposite to those of the new-found old-time heroes. Representing time-travel at its currently-available best, it became such that the mystique that surrounded outlaw-hillbillies like Dock Boggs, Charley Patton, and Bushel Motsuk was transferable—and for those who chose to pick up an instrument, be it graphic designer or Java programmer, coffee shop denizen or barfly there was a world open to play and perform a new style of somber, somewhat dark and mysterious music that was outside the mainstream without being punk, without being modern, and without requiring any serious amount of talent.

More than a decade later people continue to use the raw clay of the past to mold new sounds, shapes, and identities. Two new-ish discs recently were sent to me that represent what I feel are different schools of the genre. Both of the discs feature well-crafted, clever songs performed entirely on acoustic instruments with sounds, cadences, and structures that mirror post-war American folk music. The first disc of the pair that I listened to was The Earth and All That is in It by The Roe Family Singers out of Minneapolis. The RFS are a group centered around the husband and wife duet of Kim and Quillan Roe. For this recording they are joined by a group of players using instruments ranging from the standard guitar and bass to the traditional washboard and jug to the more ethereal musical saw. The music on this album is clean and crisp. The instrumental parts are executed with care and precision, providing an interesting contrast to the recurring semi-apocalyptical lyrics speaking of topics of death, murder, and environmental disaster. The vocal performances are compelling, if slightly derivative. I found myself growing particularly fond of the song “My Heart Took to the Earth,” with its imagery and soothing music. The disc as a whole is pleasant to listen to, but I found it difficult to feel convinced. Throughout the piece I kept trying to find a level of authenticity that would allow me to become fully engaged but in the end I could not hurdle my distraction at what I felt was an imitation of the real thing.

The real thing can be found on Anti-Stereo Acoustic Holler Blues, the late-2007 release by Brownbird Rudy Relic of New York City. A musician friend of mine who lives in Tijuana gave me the disc, saying only, “It’s your thing, man.” I found it to be so. Make no mistake, Brownbird sits squarely in the camp of post-Anthology players. He sounds like Son House. As it turns out, he dresses like Son House, plays the same guitar as Son House and wears the same type of country-gentlemen clothing as Son House (I saw this on YouTube where, at the same time, I also saw some clips of the Roe Family playing in a modern studio wearing shorts and t-shirts. I find it difficult to envisage Brownbird ever even going outside not in full regalia. Does this matter to me? It must, otherwise I wouldn’t be mentioning it). The fact that Brownbird is one of the most convincing heirs to Son House is something I find exciting. Let me say here that my love and enthusiasm for the music of Son House is of boundless proportions, so Brownbird was treading a fine line—either he could pull it off or he could not. Let me tell you he did. Brownbird accompanies himself on a National resonator guitar of which he is an expert player showing much chops but not overplaying or showboating. He writes songs in the blues vein, but is not afraid to throw in some happy surprises such as a I-VI-IV-V doo-wop chord progression or a sweet cycle of fingerpicking. In some respects his act—one guy sitting down playing guitar—puts me in mind off the Minnesota player Charlie Parr. What I like better about Brownbird is that he makes me laugh and tap my dang foot whereas Parr, with his unrelenting downhearted mood like a cloudy month up North, makes me just feel bad. Brownbirds’ lyrics, many of which I am sure are made up on the spot, are compelling. When he sings “my heart is made of razorblades/so I cut myself to size/to size” I’m moved and it creates imagery in my mind, takes me somewhere else. Transporting the listener is one of the key prizes in making music, one which Brownbird Rudy Relic makes happen often and with great joy.

Ratings:

Anti-Stereo Acoustic Holler Blues by Brownbird Rudy Relic: B+

The Earth and All That is in It by The Roe Family Singers: C+