Their third full-length album, Secret South reveals a kinder, gentler 16 Horsepower. With less fire and brimstone and more gentle persuasion, the majority of these songs warm like a Holy Spirit whisper, rather than cause you to sit bolt-straight upright from a bold prophets canyon-filling screams. Although a dash less dangerous, these eleven songs are no less interesting than the body of their earlier works and usually more. All the requisite 16HP themes of God's amazing and mysterious grace in the midst of woeful sin are stirringly intact, and the inspired music remains as hard to neatly classify as ever.
Curiously, however, the two most accessible tracks are cover songs. The first is a spooky, emotionally visceral rendering of the traditional folk song, "Wayfaring Stranger," and the other is a reverent version of Bob Dylan's "Nobody accept You." Whereas these two more recognizable tracks stand out immediately, it doesn't take long to dig into the new, original material like the rowdy foot-stomper "Clogger" and the hauntingly melancholy "Burning Bush." Interestingly, U2 emerges as an unexpected influence on some of these tracks, particularly on "Cinder Alley" which sounds vaguely like early 80's work from Bono and Company. It is no mean feat that 16HP manage to sound both like a grizzly band from the American backwoods and fresh out of European avant garde houses.
The only regret of this compelling collection is the difficult to decipher lyric sheet, which resembles a word search puzzle. Regardless, such foibles are a small price to pay for an import well worth the extra shipping charges. Is it too early to nominate the Album of the Year?
5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2000Reviewed by James StewartComing to Secret South directly from Low Estate's intensity, it may seem that Sixteen Horsepower have taken some sandpaper to their sound, smoothing off some of the edges and polishing up the result. Such an observation wouldn't be entirely misplaced. The band's new material isn't quite as extreme in its heady brew of Appalachian, eastern European and gothic sounds as that to be found on their…Similar sounding releases
1997Robert DeebleDays Like These
2000Joseph ArthurCome to Where I'm From
2003Doug BurrThe Sickle & the Sheaves
1998R.E.M.Up
2001My Morning JacketAt Dawn
2001The FramesFor the Birds
