Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir - Ten Thousand
by Anthony Dhanendran
published: 9 / 8 / 2008
Label:
Ballin the Jack
Format: CD
intro
Flawed, but fascinating second album from Mississippi blues and Appalachian hill country-influenced Canadians, Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir
Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir are not, their press release points out, a choir. Neither are they from the mountains – in fact, they're from Canada, a country whose best-known contribution to country music goes by the name of Shania Twain. Not an auspicious start, then. The band play pre-war (the second world war, that is) music in the mode of Mississippi blues and Appalachian hill country, which is more of a mix than it sounds. The opening tracks, 'Go Back Home' and 'The Boig', are good examples of what the band describe as 'death blues' – the mortality-obsessed music common to certain times and certain places in recent American history. 'Dumb it Down' and 'Taking it Out' follow in the same vein, but 'You Got it Wrong' is more of a bluegrass number, albeit a far more angry, throaty song than that sobriquet usually denotes. The album gets more interesting towards the end, particularly on 'La Valse De Balfa', a Cajun cover, and 'Empire State Express', a Son House cover. Both are extremely good versions, and they bookend another pair of death blues tracks, the slow and considered 'Rainstorms in My Knees' and the bouncy 'Nehemiah's Misfortune'. Both, particularly the latter, are among the stand-out tracks. The band are very talented – in amongst the usual finger-picked guitars, knocked-together drums and banjos are past-their-best trombones, electric guitars and more. The music is authentic, too, whatever that means in this context. It certainly wouldn't be recognised by pre-war musicians, but just like the modern blues bands who play an updated, angry version of the blues rather than slavishly adhering to how the music used to sound, Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir's music is fascinating. Sadly, they're lacking in lyrics – most of the album is nondescript when it comes to the words, and the music, while interesting, just isn't captivating enough, by and large, to stick in the mind. It's telling that the two best songs on the album are covers, and while there are some other good tracks here, it's largely going to be one for the cajun-bluegrass-country-blues completists.
Track Listing:-
1 Go Back Home2 The Boig
3 Dumb It Down
4 Taking It Out
5 You Got It Wrong
6 Life Is Long
7 Stop That Thing
8 Never Be Dead
9 La Valse De Balfa
10 Rainstorms in My Knees
11 Nehemiah's Misfortune
12 Empire State Express
13 Dark Holler
14 10,000 Years
live reviews |
12 Bar, London, 30/9/2007 |
The Agnostic Gospel Mountain Choir are obviously capable of serious force with their fierce gospe-esquel blues, but at the 12 Bar in London Dan Cressey finds them on strangely subdued form |
reviews |
Fighting And Onions (2006) |
Chaotic, but stunning punk rock folk/blues on debut album from Calgary-formed act the Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir |
most viewed articles
current edition
Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies - Sala Apolo, Barcelona, 29/11/2023 and La Paqui, Madrid, 30/11/2023Anthony Phillips - Interview
Difford and Tilbrook - Difford and Tilbrook
Rain Parade - Interview
Oldfield Youth Club - Interview
Autumn 1904 - Interview
Shaw's Trailer Park - Interview
Cafe No. 9, Sheffield and Grass Roots Venues - Comment
Chris Hludzik - Vinyl Stories
Pete Berwick - ‘Too Wild to Tame’: The story of the Boyzz:
most viewed reviews
current edition
Serious Sam Barrett - A Drop of the Morning DewRod Stewart and Jools Holland - Swing Fever
Marika Hackman - Big Sigh
Loves - True Love: The Most of The Loves
Ian M Bailey - We Live in Strange Times
Paul McCartney and Wings - Band on the Run
Autumn 1904 - Tales of Innocence
Roberta Flack - Lost Takes
Banter - Heroes
Posey Hill - No Clear Place to Fall
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart