Foghorn Leghorn: Not Before Time (CD on Slammer Records)

Band: Foghorn Leghorn
Label: Slammer Records
Title: Not Before Time

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Band:Foghorn Leghorn
Title:Not Before Time
Reviewed By:Cila Warncke
Date Published:15/08/2013

Label:Slammer Records
Format:CD
Release Year:2013
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There is something a bit disconcerting about proper, old-fashioned, whisky-in-the-jar bluegrass straight out of Clerkenwell. But that is exactly what you get on ‘Not Before Time’ the fourth album released by London outfit Foghorn Leghorn in the course of their 21-year career.

Forget for a moment the London connection; this is as juicy and satisfying a jaunt through the musical traditions of rural America as you’re likely to find. Listen closely and you’ll hear fiddle, mandolin and plenty of finger-flying guitar picking. Lyrically, ‘Runner Up’ does a fine job recounting the tale of a woman who is inexorably drawn to the “lights of town” leaving the lovelorn troubadour the “runner up in love’s cruel game.” There are plenty more tales of love gone wrong, notably ‘Either Or’ which cries, “the more you love/ the more you’re alone.”

Elsewhere, ‘My Lord’ is either a deeply religious song, or a semi-blasphemous ode to romance – personally, I hope it’s the latter. Completing the triumvirate of thematic touch-points (sex, God and death) is ‘Smoking Gun’ a ferociously catchy murder ballad that serves up a messy dish of betrayal and brutality. Foghorn Leghorn saves the best for last though with the moving, hymn-like ‘Brother O Brother’, whose stately pace does a lot to offset the sometimes frenetic fretwork in tunes like ‘Nobody Knows’.

‘Not Before Time’ is admirably, unabashedly niche and a winning testament to the skills of a band that has honed its craft over two decades of hard gigging. Aficionados of bluegrass, Americana and old-fashioned country will revel in the virtuoso musicality and the deft lyrics. Hopefully it will inspire a new audience to see Foghorn Leghorn live on their every-second-Thursday-of-the-month residency at London’s Betsy Trotswood pub because this is music best experienced with a jar of bourbon in one hand and a sweaty grip on your gal, or guy, with the other.

Track Listing:

01) Pizza Boy
02) Tube Trains
03) Runner Up
04) Either Or
05) Shut Your Face
06) Petersburg Gal
07) My Lord
08) Boy In The Machine
09) Smoking Gun
10) Madeleine
11) Nobody Knows
12) Brother O Brother

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Related Links

http://www.foghornleghornmusic.com/index.html

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Disconcerting but highly impressive combination of bluegrass, Americana and old-fashioned country on fourth album from veteran Clerkenwell-based group, Foghorn Leghorn

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Not Before Time - CD
Disconcerting but highly impressive combination of bluegrass, Americana and old-fashioned country on fourth album from veteran Clerkenwell-based group, Foghorn Leghorn

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