Album Club: 18.10.2011: The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow (2011)

[sq225917]

I like it a lot, simple, a bit twee, a bit country at times but thoroughly well done and perfectly recorded & produced.

[Alex_UK]

Nice choice Tim, and good to see something new. I will give it a fresh spin in album club tradition and comment later, but I'm already a fan so it won't be bad from me!

[Bazil]

This is alright, not the sort of thing I would listen to but I enjoyed it considering it was a first listen. I'll play it again if Spotify lets me 4/5

[YNWaN]

I'm not so keen on the more obviously country elements - I like the more 'left field' stuff though.

[The Grand Wazoo]

I saw them on th Jools Holland programme the other week & was interested enough to resolve to take a look at Spotify to see if the album was there. I never got round to doing that, so I was glad of an excuse to dial it up & give it a fair hearing today.

Only one play so far, but I quite liked it. I thought there was a bit of a Plant/Krauss thing going on with this one but I felt it was perhaps lacking a bit of an edge. I'd think that after a couple of further listens I may well like it enough to get a copy. I can't see it ever being worn out from over-playing though!

[Tim]

I saw them on th Jools Holland programme the other week & was interested enough to resolve to take a look at Spotify to see if the album was there. I never got round to doing that, so I was glad of an excuse to dial it up & give it a fair hearing today.

Only one play so far, but I quite liked it. I thought there was a bit of a Plant/Krauss thing going on with this one but I felt it was perhaps lacking a bit of an edge. I'd think that after a couple of further listens I may well like it enough to get a copy. I can't see it ever being worn out from over-playing though!

It is a real grower Chris, I thought it was OK when I first heard it, but have played it multiple times since then and really enjoy it now. Seeing them live however, really upped my opinion of them.

Glad folk are enjoying them and I wanted to bring something new and bang up to date to Album Club. I was going to choose Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa, but that's doing very nicely on it's own

[keiths]

I've had this one a while and enjoy it. Their voices work very well together, the arrangements are nice and simple and well played and the songs fairly strong.

Maybe a bit bland in places, but overall a good album.

I've voted "3", but it's better than that (that's the same score I gave Zero 7 last week, but I like this more - but not as much as "Liege and Lief" a few weeks back - which I gave a "4". So a "3" it has to be - but really it's a "3.5" )

[Audioman]

Pleasant listen and nicely played and performed. For me it draggs a bit especialy the first few tracks. 2 or 3 more up tempo numbers thrown in would have improved it greatly. Potential not fully realised yet. They need a few stronger and more memorable songs. Since I reserve 4/5 for the top quality and classic records I can only give it 3, though in terms of musical talent this duo deserve better.

Can I add that it is not as americana / country as I expected. As pointed out before it is nearer UK folk such as Gregson/Collister who were a lot better IMHO. Ironic that Clive Gregson is now a Nashville based songwriter.

[Bazil]

This is alright, not the sort of thing I would listen to but I enjoyed it considering it was a first listen. I'll play it again if Spotify lets me 4/5

I've now got this and play it regular, really like it.

[Tim]

I've now got this and play it regular, really like it.

Glad you like it, it grows on you more and more too

Can I add that it is not as americana / country as I expected.

I think Americana as a genre has changed/grown and can be tough to define - however it has just been officially defined at the Nashville Americana Festival as 'A genre of American music which has it roots in folk and country music' I think a lot of people just assume 'Americana' is country, but it's much more than that IMO. Lucinda Williams is a classic example of modern Americana and has pushed her musical boundaries way beyond just country.

I'm glad some people enjoyed this selection, to be honest I didn't expect it to do as well as it did. Joy and John Paul are already working on writing a follow up album and have started their own headline tour of the US, which is just about sold out. The success of this album has boosted their careers beyond their wildest dreams.

Thanks to all who gave it a go, as it was rather different to the previous selections. If I keep contributing to Album Club I will aim to always introduce new or relatively unknown artists.