Great Crusades - Welcome To The Hiawatha Inn

  by Helen Tipping

published: 26 / 10 / 2004

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Review

The Great Crusades sound like they spend far too much time in smokey bars drinking whiskey, but not so much that they haven't had time to record this, their fourth album. This brings back my mis-spent youth,which I spent listening to Tom Waits and Nick Cave whilst hoping that smoking & drinking would help me develop a gravelly voice, rather than send me to an early grave. But then I'm the wrong gender to end up sound like Brian Krumm, singer with The Great Crusades. Self described as a folk-punk-country band, this is American folk, not the British variety that spawned bands like All About Eve. This has strange men-in-black, disposing of bodies in southern swamps - I suppose that's my way of saying it's definitely on the darkside - there aren't any angels here. Lyrically dark, with intense guitars this isn't feel good music to relax to after a hard day at work, although the title track 'Hiawatha Inn', is musically more upbeat than most of the album - don't be fooled though, there's no hope here, just an underlying sadness that permeates this and the next track, 'November', a ballad for outsiders. Krumm has tales to tell. The second track 'Spinnin' Head' is about a Vietnam Veteran, living alone,. His only comfort lies in telling his war stories to the girls he goes into town to meet. These are songs with stories, sad stories, not verse-chorus-verse pop songs. Drunkeness, deceit and loneliness lie herein - don't be afraid to enter.

Track Listing:-

1 Who Makes The Voices Stop?
2 Spinnin' Head
3 God Gave Me
4 Elizabeth
5 Pilsen
6 Hiawatha Inn
7 November
8 I Wish (Portland Sun)
9 St. Christopher Street
10 Badlands
11 Drunkard On A Drunkard's Grave
12 No Lover To Mourn
13 I'll Be Over Here

Label Links:-

http://label.glitterhouse.com/
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https://twitter.com/glitterhouserec
https://www.youtube.com/user/Glitterho