LONESOME WYATT & THE HOLY SPOOKS Gothic Country Sometimes you see something so odd and wonderful, you exclaim, “Where has this been all my life?!” That was exactly my reaction when I encountered Lonesome Wyatt and his brand of gothic country music. Also known as gothic Americana or death folk, it is exactly what it sounds like, and no, it’s not as discordant as you may think. Goth country takes the themes of regular gothic music, such as death, ghosts and other various horrors and sorrows, and sets it to a dark country melody. It’s reminiscent of southern Gothic literature, which includes writers such as William Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor. Like Faulkner and O’Connor, Lonesome Wyatt is also a master of his genre. Also a member of the duo Those Poor Bastards, Lonesome Wyatt (along with the Holy Spooks) produces wonderfully creepy alternative folk music. Lonesome Wyatt & the Holy Spooks have just released their latest album Ghost Ballads, most definitely a tribute to Dean Gitter’s classic spooky folk album of the same name, and while their music is much quieter than Those Poor Bastards (who seriously kick the crap out each song), but don’t call it mellow. Each song is like a slow, quiet nightmare, but in a delightful way. Even the more upbeat songs are still dreamlike, and still creepy-crawly, such like “Dream of You,” about a dead lover, and “October 1347,” which is about the Black Plague. Never thought you’d like a song about the plague, did you? Both Lonesome Wyatt & the Holy Spooks and Those Poor Bastards will transport you back to the dark days of the American past, where ghosts and witches lurked in the shadows, and the dead would rattle their bones in the wind to entice you into their graves. I think I forgot how much I loved horror—now I’m going to be spending my free time listening to goth country and looking up creepy folk stories. By gum, it’s been a while.
MADISON