The Howlin’ Brothers follow up to the exceptional and well received Howl, is another fantastic release, Troubles have never felt so good to have. And it appears they’ll have no trouble finding greater success in the near future.
Trouble was produced and engineered by indie rocker Brendan Benson of The Raconteurs and solo career fame. It was released on CD and digitally April 29th via Benson’s independent label Readymade Records (in the U.S.), and distributed by Thirty Tigers/RED. In Canada, it is released via Dine Alone Records, and distributed by Universal.
Benson describes Trouble as “effortless artistry . . . woebegone, lovelorn and wrought with pain, but not without installments of lightheartedness and beauty, downtrodden and then uplifted.” He adds, “The Howlin’ Brothers are somehow able to conjure images of a bygone era and make it believable. Trouble is all over the map and I don’t just mean figuratively. The listener gets a glimpse into the troubadour lifestyle, traveling (among other places) to Louisiana for a Cajun romp on the bayou and across the Arizona desert to California on a search for a misses. It’s a journey very much worth the while. Hoooowwwwllll!”
Benson continues: “The Howlin’ Brothers live the life they sing about in their songs. They are authentic and the real deal through and through. On top of that, they are the hardest working musicians I've come across. They play their instruments every waking moment and are truly possessed by music.”
According to Green, “The songs on Trouble are very different from one another. It’s a collection of beautiful music influenced from personal experience. We tend to write songs separately and collaborate after a melody or lyrics are fully thought. Trouble is a gumbo of stories that we hope the whole world will hear. It was a blast working with Brendan Benson again, getting as far out sonically as we could dream of, all in the midst of having a brand new baby and coming right off the road from a busy year. A time of my life I will never forget.”
TROUBLE TRACK LISTING:
1. Pour It Down2. Boogie
3. Night and Day
4. Monroe
5. World Spinning Round
6. Troubled Waltz
7. Sing a Sad Song
8. Pack Up Joe
9. Love
10. Hard Times
11. I Was Wrong
12. Louisiana
13. Yes I Am!
The majority of the 13 original songs that comprise Trouble, were influenced by the people they met and struggles they encountered on the road over the past year.
Trouble’s songs touch on lots of experiences from each side of the same coin in the band’s life. Though these guys have more depth and dimension than just two sides as people, players, and songwriters. Their individual strengths combine in the bands’ whole in ways that really do solidify their bond as musical brothers. They all met in college up in Ithaca, N.Y. and migrated to Nashville, Tenn. Afterwards, where they immersed themselves further in the Southern music they love and began to further hone their craft. Prior to HOWL (2013), they self-released four albums - Tragic Mountain Songs (2007), Long Hard Year (2009), Baker St. Blues (2011), and a very limited edition compilation of live performances, Old Time All the Time (2012). These previous releases had been sold exclusively at shows, however they may become available on the band’s website sometime in 2014.
THE HOWLIN' BROTHERS ARE
Ian Craft (Banjo, Mandolin, Fiddle, Kick-drum, Vocals)
Jared Green (Guitar, Harmonica, Piano, Vocals)
Ben Plasse (Upright Bass, Vocals)
Special guest artists on Trouble include:
Ricky Skaggs - mandolin on "Hard Times" and "Sing a Sad Song"
Etta Britt (also Brother Jared’s mother-in-law) - Background vocals on "Love" and "Yes I Am"
Mike Freid - Pedal Steel on "World Spinning Round”
Gregg Stock - drums on “Sing A Sad Song"
Brendan Benson - Washtub Bass on “Boogie” and background vocals on “Yes I Am!"
The Howlin' Brothers - Night And Day (official video)
The Howlin' Brothers - Pour It Down (Live in Nashville)
The Howlin' Brothers - Monroe
The Howlin' Brothers - Hard Times [Live at WAMU's Bluegrass Country]
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