Wednesday 21 April 2010

REVIEW. HAZARD COUNTY GIRLS --- DIVINE ARMOR

Hazard County Girls are a trio from New Orleans who create heavy, doom-laden rock anthems with a melodic edge.  Their music features sludge-y deep guitars and a driving drum beat that echoes stoner rock and bands like Black Sabbath.  They manage to keep it from being too overwhelming and one-dimensional by blending tunes and gloom to create music as beautiful and powerful as a stormy ocean.  Lead singer, Christy Kane, also has a softer, more beguiling voice than you normally get with this type of music and it makes her cryptic but emotional lyrics all the more evocative and beguiling.  It's a testament to their musical skills that 3 of them can create such strong music that surrounds you and cocoons you and spirits you away to a strange, dark but oddly safe place.  They bring gothic influences in, in a unexpected way with touches of traditional folk/blues rather like Rasputina or Nick Cave (only a lot heavier and more towards traditional guitar rock) --- their cover version of Knoxville Boy (the traditional ballad, Knoxville Girl, slightly rewritten) is a haunting ode and there are many other fine songs on this album.  (My personal favourites are Fine Lines and Wise Blood).  Divine Armour is the sound of a band of heartbroken female pirates laying waste to a desolate world.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN MAY 2008.

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