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The Hokum High Rollers, Big Blessings Poppin’ (SELF-RELEASED, CD)
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guitar and banjo are prominent in the mix, the general bedlam detracts from what appear to be fine performances. Other cuts fare far better. “Please, Baby” is a loping gem. And though the vocals are still frustratingly set back in the mix, the song bears an irresistibly clumsy charm, embodied by Raychel Severance’s bouncy bucket bass. “Furniture Man” showcases Lawrence’s nimble licks and the propulsive scratch of Nathan Tinglof’s washboard percussion. “My Gal Sal” is a jaunty little ditty, with Waltz delivering madcap vocals over a bustle of jumpy banjo and flittering bells. The riotous “Shake It and Break It” features a grinning cameo on kazoo-a-phone from Uncle Davie Jenkins, who also engineered the album. And “I’ll See You in My Dreams” is a yearning, breezily pretty hothouse number that evokes pure, wide-eyed innocence. Big Blessings Poppin’ might grate on the ears of overly particular audiophiles. But for the Hokum High Rollers, that seems to be at least partially the point. Flaws are often as important to character as are strengths. Clean isn’t always better. And sometimes, you just gotta get down and play in the dirt. Few do that better than the Hokum High Rollers.
sound. Then, just at the height of Channel 16 BRUNCH tension, the band relents, leaving only WITH BERNIE Myers and his rippling, crystalline lIve > noon FrIdaYS Call In! 1-866-987-thom tones. That sense of contrast, the ability Channel 17 to expand and contract, is central to SO. BURLINGTON SPECIAL ELECTION Myers’ compositional philosophy. BALLOT ITEMS Unpredictability is a running theme WeeKnIghtS > 5:25 Pm throughout Remember. “Baga” sets GET MORE INfO OR WATCH ONLINE AT vermont cam.org • retn.org distinctly Americanized funk horn CHANNEL17.ORG melodies in opposition to Myers’ curious West African modal shifts before descending into a spacious, 16t-retnWEEKLY.indd 1 11/28/11 11:54 AM psychedelic bridge that ultimately unites the two. “Blues for Segu” roils along murkily until the band fractures its heady groove with an expansive, polyrhythmic break and a fearsome solo from guest guitarist Bob Wagner. “Good Morning” breaks like dawn with Stop by today and celebrate with us! a yawning midrange progression from Myers. Eventually it yields to a phalanx Now Booking of disorienting noise that jolts the Holiday Parties… listener to reluctant wakefulness. Happy Holidays As star studded an ensemble as from all your friends Barika is, the guests on Remember at the Lakeview! are equally impressive. Keyboardist Tom Cleary makes a typically potent
Ring in the Holidays!
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Barika, Remember (SELF-RELEASED, CD)
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and sonically arresting appearance on “River Niger.” Saxophonist Brian McCarthy is also a welcome addition on that track, the following number and album closer “Grace.” That last cut is the only one on the record with vocals, courtesy of Rubblebucket’s Annakalmia Clark Traver, who also wrote the lyrics. As she so often does with her own band, Traver’s distinctive delivery lends a singular depth and character. It’s sparkling and adventuresomely close to a truly remarkable record. This week, Barika play two local shows in support of Remember: Friday, December 2, at Red Square in Burlington and Saturday, December 3, at the Rusty Nail in Stowe.
11.30.11-12.07.11
On their long-awaited full-length debut, Remember,, local ensemble Barika finally capture their uniquely thrilling brand of Afro-funk-psych-indie-whatever-rock on record. The album is, in no uncertain terms, a dynamic tour de force. The brilliantly conceived and expertly executed brainchild of n’goni master Craig Myers is among the finest local albums you’ll hear in this, or any other, year. Really. Remember begins with a shimmering, n’goni line that imparts an ethereal calm. Beware: It’s a setup. At the precise moment when Myers’ nimble plucking renders the listener into a blissful lull, the title track explodes in a maelstrom of steamy funk. Exultant horns take flight over Caleb Bronz’s insistent drums and JP Candelier’s undulating bass. Andric Severance’s twisting key swirls create an iridescent bed of shifting, opaque
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If you spent much time in downtown Burlington this summer, it’s likely you caught the Hokum High Rollers busking on the Church Street Marketplace at one point or another. The local string band was a welcome ragtag regular on our increasingly homogeneous and, well, pedestrian pedestrian mall. As spiritual steampunk kin to beloved suspender-fusion progenitors the Vermont Joy Parade, the vagabondish, old-time quartet helped reintroduce a raw, joyous artistic aesthetic to the Queen City’s social hub. These High Rollers got style. Their debut album, Big Blessings Poppin’, achieves a similarly humble feat, standing out as a defiantly roughhewn musical treasure as jubilant and whimsical as it is well worn and frayed around the edges. On Blessings, the High Rollers cruise right by “lo-fi” and hop off the sonic freight car at “no-fi.” The album was recorded live, which lends an air of enthusiasm and vibrancy that attempts to do justice to the band’s energetic live act. By and large, that’s the exact effect. However, at times the album is crude to a fault. The lead cut, “Travelin’ Man,” is one such example, sounding as though it was literally recorded in the aforementioned freight car … while the train was moving. Fast. Peppy vocal turns from resophonic guitarist Jason Lawrence and tenor banjo and uke player Hannah Waltz are too often swallowed in cacophony. And though
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