Hoots & Hellmouth - The Holy Open Secret [Album]

Mad Dragon

October 25, 2009, 12:08 PM

Views: 266   Comments: 1

Buy Hoots & Hellmouth - The Holy Open Secret [Album] From Amazon.com

Hoots and Hellmouth, a folk-rock / alt-country / gospel outfit from Philadelphia, home of the Pilgrim Fathers and the Declaration of Independence, are led by songwriters Sean Hoots and Andrew ‘Hellmouth’ Gray. The pair’s musical influences are many and varied, creating ‘offbeat fare’ their fans refer to as ‘chaotic’ and ‘schizophrenic.’ In the normal way of things one would welcome a band with such diverse inspirations but regretfully and despite their considerable and evident imagination, Hoots and Hellmouth are simply not yet good enough songwriters to carry these influences through to conclusion.

Instead many tracks on "The Holy Open Secret" are simply poor. There’s also a competition between two musical styles and vocal deliveries. This is audible even with producer Bill Moriarty’s considerable skills. Moriarty, known for distilling wild sounds and making them exciting and accessible for bands such as Dr Dog and Man Man, knows his business. But on this occasion even he can’t make sows’ ears into silk purses.

Chuck out the worst and what’s left are a few half-decent songs that may have made a reasonable EP. The best is 'Roll, Brandywine, Roll,' a beautifully produced, mainly acoustic effort with good harmonies and a gospel choir lifting the chorus; there’s also the amusing 'The Family Band' while 'Watch Your Mouth' is a noisy, fun, romp. Of the remainder, 'Root of the Industry' has lots of energy and great bluegrass guitar, in 'You And All of Us' there’s a hint of Mungo Jerry without the charm; 'Ne’er Do Well' has potential, as does 'Known for Possession,' but neither ultimately delivers. Then there’s the peculiarly named, 'What Use Are Ploughshares if We Use Them as Swords,' with its irritating guitar riff and Motown-like falsetto…

If your thing is disturbing weirdness then you might enjoy some of this collection. But taken overall "The Holy Open Secret" is a forgettable album of disparate tracks from a band that appears to have two leaders; neither chaotic nor schizophrenic, merely indulgent and contradictory.

#1 | Subscribe | Send to Friend | Print | Discipline | Report