Folklore, by its title, would imply that this album is comprised of traditional songs, perhaps with new arrangements, somewhat in the vein of O Brother Where Art Thou? This is partially true - four of the songs contained here are traditional songs, while Hank Williams and the Carter Family are also represented. 16HP also has composed four new tunes with the same sensibilities of their predecessors.
"Hutterite Mile," one of the original numbers, paints a stark picture of a man determined to walk the narrow road:
Iron sharpens iron
Crooked wooden and peacock black
I have your feathers
Slung across my back
I'm not the only one
To help you down the hill
My blue knuckles do as they will.
It is easy to imagine Bob Dylan covering this song.
"Outlaw Song," about a fugitive on the run, is portrayed in a Johnny Cash/Neil Young style. "Blessed Persistence" is a haunting tune, while "Alone and Forsaken" (originally done by Hank Williams) describes a man abandoned "by fate and by man," pleading for God to help him feel any semblance of love on earth.
"Horse Head Fiddle" sounds like nothing more than a Jim Morrison poem set to music. "Flutter" demonstrates David Edwards' vocal range, as he imitates Daniel Ash. Throughout most of the disc, he sounds more like Dylan crossed with the two Morrisons (Van and Jim).
If you enjoy Steinbeck's novels, or the bleak, almost mournful songs of early country music, Folklore should be right up your alley. If you want bouncy, happy pop music, run screaming in the other direction.
3.5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
Opus 2002Reviewed by Chris Brown16 Horsepower is a band branded by the singular vision of David Eugene Edwards. His is a dark, apocalyptic world where the flesh and spirit are locked in constant struggle, where Edwards howls out his fractured visions couched in droning banjos, fiddles, and pounding rhythms. What people often miss when they focus on Edwards, however, is that 16 Horsepower is a band that constantly revises their…The Phantom Tollbooth 2002Reviewed by Chris FlierFolklore does create some confusion. Keyboard player and guitarist Steven Taylor has left the band and the remaining three 16 Horsepower members have promptly banned loud guitars from their new album. Only a few weeks after David Eugene Edwards' solo project Woven Hand the fourth album of the 16hp's is released. For Folklore 16 Horsepower has picked four original compositions and six pieces of…The Phantom Tollbooth 2002Reviewed by Ken MuellerDavid Eugene Edwards continues to amaze me, and over the years has put together one of the most impressive music catalogs of any artist. The latest release from 16 Horsepower, Folklore, just furthers that idea in my mind. Picking up where he left off with his Woven Hand side-project, Edwards and the gang seem to be headed in a decidedly more acoustic direction. The loud guitars and throbbing bass…Similar sounding releases
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