The disillusions of age in twangy alt.country time
Long Island-based Butchers Blind has developed an impressive catalog of original country-rock over the past five years. Over that time, the band’s playing, arrangements and recordings have tightened up, and vocalist Pete Mancini’s songwriting has deepened. His latest collection meditates in large part on the disillusioning realizations that come with age, including disaffection from work, the banality of static relationships, the recognition of one’s own selfishness, and perhaps worst of all, the inability to sustain the passions of youth. You can hear the hoarse, reedy tone of Jeff Tweedy in Mancini’s voice, but there’s a thread of lament that provides the album’s dominant mood. Fans of Wilco, Son Volt and the Jayhawks will quickly cotton to Butchers Blind, and they’ll be pleased to find the band’s music stands on the shoulders of alt.country giants rather than follows blindly in their footsteps. [©2014 Hyperbolium] 