Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs
(Transdreamer Records)
The Devil has a hold on Holly Golightly. And in his infinite wisdom, he has commanded her to record a sweltering, neo-Delta blues masterpiece - Dirt Don't Hurt, her 19th and perhaps finest album. Teaming in the studio for round two with longtime touring collaborator, upright bassist Lawyer Dave, Holly's latest with the Brokeoffs (really, it's just Dave) digs deeper into the tinny anachronistic tunes of You Can't Buy a Gun When You're Crying. The presentation is classic, analog madness spawned mid-tour from a blistering five day session at Circo Perotti in Spain.
With Exile on Main Street grins, Holly and Dave fire off 14 songs steeped in Mississippi mud, blood and moonshine. The originals - save their greasy, rocks off rendition of "I Wanna Hug Ya, Kiss Ya, Squeeze Ya" and two other traditional arrangements - could have just as easily come from the pen of many-a-famed country and blues stalwarts.
"Gettin' High For Jesus" (why you ask, "Because he got so low for me" according to Holly and Dave) shakes the roof off the barn, a testament to the power of two first-rate musicians posing as a full band. Like this year's other best she and he duo - KatJonBand - Holly and Dave do it all: strings (steel guitar, banjoes and the like), keyboards, harmonica, percussion and more.
"If it burns/ I'm gonna smoke it/ If it don't I'll find a way," they sing together on the aforementioned blasphemous song. With that sort of can-do attitude, Holly and her Brokeoff plow through the gothic slow-burners ("Indeed You Do", "Three Times Under", "Slow Road") and the foot-stompin' sing-alongs ("Bottom Below", "My 45") with equal precision and showmanship.
They've distilled their influences down to a hard shot of traditional American styles, ready to be socked down by anyone game for the sweet burn.
Standout Tracks: "Indeed You Do", "Gettin' High For Jesus", "Cora"
ZACHARY HERRMANN
