Monday, October 4, 2010

Music Review - Ten Cent Howl


Ten Cent Howl bills themselves as "The combination of savory music, seasoned musicians and raw rust-belt rocking alt-country, provides for some great, shit-kickin’ flavor." and that's perfectly fine. Four fine musicians from of all places, Buffalo, NY, bringing together the jam session stylings of more laid-back sounds and the rocking country sound of the upbeat, dancing crowd.


With superb song writing by lead-singer and acoustic guitar man, Bill Smith (yes that's his real name), TCH is bringing fun back into music scene of their hometown. While still putting together a formal release, they are currently hosting tracks on their website.


Admittedly, the recordings are well done, but even the live recordings fail to capture the energy of the band on stage. Known to play marathon shows of up to 4 hours, these guys can keep picking and grinning and staying fresh and fun while never delving into that cheese-ball country zone of popp-ish country that seems to dominant the alt-country charts these days.


Jerry Hall's bass playing on these recordings is perfect for bridging the under-stated drumming (which is shows simple can be complex when you have the talent of someone like Steve Puglisi) and the capable guitar work of both Harmony Griffin and the rock-steady Bill Smith. While I'm not an uber-fan of alt-country tunes, Ten Cent Howl puts on a great show that includes poking fun of themselves and the genre and still making everyone have a great time.


Where to find them:



RIYL: Wilco, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Jr.

No comments: