Folklore

Amazon.com

Whistling in the wind like a ghost in the desert, 16 Horsepower’s Folklore is a grave, brooding piece of dark theater. Outside of occasional relief in the form of a loose French waltz finale and the natural rockabilly songwriting touch of David Eugene Edwards, the music here is akin to a bleak ride to a dusty crossroads where the devil awaits. Reminiscent of the rustic cacophony that Grant Lee Buffalo brought to Mighty Joe Moon, or Nick Cave’s desolate wasteland elegies, Folklore leaves behind the last of the band’s alt-country tics. The flat, yearning tones of Edwards’s singing combines with a spare banjo on tracks like “Alone and Forsaken” before “Single Girl” picks up the tempo with a bouncy bass line and a folksy chorus. But the mood is short-lived, as “Sinnerman” and the bleak, brilliant “Horse Head Fiddle” reestablish the album’s desolate, hypnotic trance. Folklore‘s haunted melodies and mythic inspirations have a frightening intensity that turns this short set (just over 37 minutes) into an unforgettable experience. –Matthew Cooke