Black Water County "Welcome to the Black Water County" Self-released
Release date: August 17, 2013
Running time: 22:16, 6 tracks
2013 is a fantastic year for the Celtic/folk punk scene from the South West of England. This is the third review that I post about a band from Dorset: firstly The JackRatts, then The Devil’s Rejects and now Black Water County.
The quintet from Bournemouth has some points in common with their neighbours The JackRatts: both of them are very young and both of them have written some pirate songs. Anyway, Black Water County have their own sound and their instrumentation is a little bit different: guitars, banjo/mandolin, tin whistle/melodica, bass and drums.
“Welcome to the Black Water County”, their debut EP, consists of 4 self-penned songs, one Ewan MacColl cover and one Irish standard. The band is really tight if we take into account that they were formed at the beginning of the year. I would like to draw your attention to their banjo sound, which is in line with the likes of BlackEyed Dempseys and Vagrant Nation, two new bands from the USA.
Track one and track two are a couple of booze songs. As it has been said, they featured first class banjo picking together with great chorus. “Happy Drunk” is about a guy whose driving force is drinking . “Steaming” is the usual tale: older people blame on young people because they only think in booze and girls, but they behaved the same way when they were young. I love the end of the song with banjo, whistle and guitar.
“Folk Sh*t Up” is another excellent lively banjo number. It has a slight The Skels influence and, IMHO, is the best song on the EP. Kick-ass number with an enjoyable end: guitar, banjo, clapping and “wo wo wo” sing-a-long chorus.
I feel that “Pirate Song” is the second best song on “Welcome to Black Water County”. This is a mandolin driven number that everybody should be singing on “Talk Like a Pirate Day”.
Normally I prefer original compositions to covers, but I understand that new bands need time to write their own songs. Fortunately, BWC have chosen the right track order and the covers have been placed at the end of the EP. The two covers on the EP are OK, but I feel that BWC are not as comfortable as they are when they play their own tunes. “Dirty Old Town” is fair; it’s also a mandolin number and it features an interesting guitar work on the “I’m gonna make me a big sharp axe” part. “Irish Rover” is better. It’s an upbeat banjo version and lead vocals are shared by Tim (boy) and Shan (girl).
The following sentence is stated on the liner notes“ As with every good thing in life this EP starts with a pint of stout”. BWC are right, grab your pint and enjoy this fine EP. I’m looking forward to drinking more pints when their debut album is out.
1 - The Happy Drunk 3:31
2 - Steaming 4:10
3 - Folk Sh*t Up (Wo Wo Wo) 3:49
4 - The Pirate Song 3:38
5 - Dirty Old Song 3:28
6 - Irish Rover 3:37
Tracklist:
http://www.blackwatercounty.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/BlackWaterCounty
http://www.reverbnation.com/blackwatercounty
https://twitter.com/WelcomeToTheBWC
Click to buy "The Pirate Song" from iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/the-pirate-song-single/id692977264
Release date: August 17, 2013
Running time: 22:16, 6 tracks
2013 is a fantastic year for the Celtic/folk punk scene from the South West of England. This is the third review that I post about a band from Dorset: firstly The JackRatts, then The Devil’s Rejects and now Black Water County.
The quintet from Bournemouth has some points in common with their neighbours The JackRatts: both of them are very young and both of them have written some pirate songs. Anyway, Black Water County have their own sound and their instrumentation is a little bit different: guitars, banjo/mandolin, tin whistle/melodica, bass and drums.
“Welcome to the Black Water County”, their debut EP, consists of 4 self-penned songs, one Ewan MacColl cover and one Irish standard. The band is really tight if we take into account that they were formed at the beginning of the year. I would like to draw your attention to their banjo sound, which is in line with the likes of BlackEyed Dempseys and Vagrant Nation, two new bands from the USA.
Track one and track two are a couple of booze songs. As it has been said, they featured first class banjo picking together with great chorus. “Happy Drunk” is about a guy whose driving force is drinking . “Steaming” is the usual tale: older people blame on young people because they only think in booze and girls, but they behaved the same way when they were young. I love the end of the song with banjo, whistle and guitar.
“Folk Sh*t Up” is another excellent lively banjo number. It has a slight The Skels influence and, IMHO, is the best song on the EP. Kick-ass number with an enjoyable end: guitar, banjo, clapping and “wo wo wo” sing-a-long chorus.
I feel that “Pirate Song” is the second best song on “Welcome to Black Water County”. This is a mandolin driven number that everybody should be singing on “Talk Like a Pirate Day”.
Normally I prefer original compositions to covers, but I understand that new bands need time to write their own songs. Fortunately, BWC have chosen the right track order and the covers have been placed at the end of the EP. The two covers on the EP are OK, but I feel that BWC are not as comfortable as they are when they play their own tunes. “Dirty Old Town” is fair; it’s also a mandolin number and it features an interesting guitar work on the “I’m gonna make me a big sharp axe” part. “Irish Rover” is better. It’s an upbeat banjo version and lead vocals are shared by Tim (boy) and Shan (girl).
The following sentence is stated on the liner notes“ As with every good thing in life this EP starts with a pint of stout”. BWC are right, grab your pint and enjoy this fine EP. I’m looking forward to drinking more pints when their debut album is out.
1 - The Happy Drunk 3:31
2 - Steaming 4:10
3 - Folk Sh*t Up (Wo Wo Wo) 3:49
4 - The Pirate Song 3:38
5 - Dirty Old Song 3:28
6 - Irish Rover 3:37
Tracklist:
http://www.blackwatercounty.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/BlackWaterCounty
http://www.reverbnation.com/blackwatercounty
https://twitter.com/WelcomeToTheBWC
Click to buy "The Pirate Song" from iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/the-pirate-song-single/id692977264
Contact the band to buy the EP
Review by Kinksmarkham
Review by Kinksmarkham
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