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Catchy alt/folk dreams of death and romance

 Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)

Review Comments: Meatyard's first wide release cd has been well worth the wait. Josh Welsh has assembled an able band here to explore and give voice to his and his brother Philip's quirky, pleasing lyrics (mostly about death, but in the least depressing way one might imagine: in spirit, its take on the subject is more Billy Collins than Leonard Cohen). The title track is a good example, with thoughtful, amusing lyrics about a recently departed's view of his own shamble into the afterlife ("life's but a brief candle, and death is a breeze") with riveting female vocal harmonies and effective piano counterpoint, all to a catchy, upbeat, hum all day sort of tune. Many tracks feature attractive slide guitar, a particularly good match to Welsh's vocal style, which might remind listeners of, say, equal parts Fred Neil, Lloyd Cole, and Richard Buckner. The album closes with one of its strongest tracks, a hauntingly beautiful lullabye, whimsical and very gently rollicking but with images so vivid you wish you could shut your eyes and dream of them all night long.

Alt-Country for People Who Read the Obits

 Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)

Review Comments: If Townes Van Zandt, Roger Miller, Johnny Cash and Warren Zevon had a poker game in heaven, they might just listen to "Toot Toot, Boom Boom."

After releasing several CDs worth of demos over the past few years, Meatyard went into a 'real' studio in 2007-2008 -- the legendary Jungle Room in Glendale, CA -- where they recorded "Toot Toot, Boom Boom," a collection of mainly acoustic, guitar-driven songs with male-female harmony vocals.

The band's off-kilter lyrics are reminiscent of John Prine or Warren Zevon, while the vocal style is closer to Johnny Cash, Greg Brown or (late) Nick Lowe. The music isn't exactly what you'd call country, or blues, or folk, and putting the word 'alternative' in front of any of those isn't much help -- but their sound is somewhere in that mix. If Leonard Cohen had a country band, maybe just maybe he would sound half as good as Meatyard.

Who's who: lead vocals and rhythm guitar are by Josh Welsh, who started out in the punk/garage band Throttlebox and who has gradually but inexorably moved in the direction of stripped down acoustic material. Bass, drums, harmonica, and some backing vocals are provided by Martin Garner (of the Asbestos Sisters); piano and glockenspiel by Lance Hammer; slide guitar by Rupert Sandes; and lush harmony vocals are by Molly Hansen. This particular batch of songs were all written by the brother-team of Josh and Philip Welsh, with the exeception of "The Sun Is On My Face Again," by Greg Eliason and Josh Welsh, and the traditional 'The Water Is Wide'.