| Beat Circus / These Wicked Things |
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| Album: | These Wicked Things | Collection: | General | |
| Artist: | Beat Circus | Added: | Mar 2019 | |
| Label: | Innova Recordings | |||
| A-File Activity |
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| Add Date: | 2019-04-02 | Pull Date: | 2019-06-04 |
| Week Ending: | May 12 | May 5 | Apr 28 | Apr 21 | Apr 14 |
| Airplays: | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Recent Airplay
| 1. | May 07, 2019: | Attitude Adjustment The Last Man (Is Anybody Out There) | 4. | Apr 24, 2019: | Brownian Motion Bad Motel | |
| 2. | May 04, 2019: | Buford J. Sharkley Presents: As Told to Hervey Okkles Bad Motel | 5. | Apr 21, 2019: | Hanging in the bone yard Gone, Gone, Gone | |
| 3. | Apr 27, 2019: | Music Casserole The Last Man (Is Anybody Out There) | 6. | Apr 18, 2019: | Hanging in the Bone Yard Gone, Gone, Gone |
| Album Review |
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| DeVoss Reviewed 2019-03-19 | ||
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– General Description: Just plain fun. Just great. So many excellent musicians joining sounds. So many excellent ideas and distinguishable genres explored: cowpunk (combining elements of country, western and punk), post-punk, Mexican folk (Huapango), mariachi, spaghetti western, and giallo (Italian thriller-horror). “These Wicked Things” is the fourth release from the Boston-based band Beat Circus and the final installment in singer/multi-instrumentalist/composer Brian Carpenter’s “Weird American Gothic” trilogy. In 2014, Carpenter was commissioned to compose music and lyrics for Dominic Orlando’s play “The Barbary Coast” (based on a true crime book by Herbert Asbury about San Francisco in the late 1800’s). The play focuses on Joaquin Murieta; he went on a revenge spree after his wife Rosita was killed by gold miners. Two versions of “Rosita” and some incidental music from the play are included in this release. Brian Carpenter has a deep clear voice and sounds like a weathered gentleman cowboy telling you why he and his horse are so calm in the approaching storm. (Just the way it is, mam’ — just the way it is. Gotta keep movin’ though. Nice talkin’ with ya.) And then the camera pans to a sky, wide and dark with clouds, as the simmering surroundings begin to a slow boil. Every track is a delight. – Musicians: Brian Carpenter - vocals, harmonica, piano, bells, trumpet, jawharp, turntables Andrew Stern - guitar, baritone guitar, acoustic guitar Alec Spiegelman - bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, flute, backing vocals Abigale Reisman - violin, backing vocals Emily Bookwalter - viola, backing vocals Jordan Voelker - viola, backing vocals, saw Paul Dilley - double bass, electric bass Gavin McCarthy - drums Additional musicians: Brad Balliett - bassoon on “Crow Killer” Catherine Bent - cello on “Crow Killer” Quinn Carson - trombone Ron Caswell - tuba Bill Cole - Chinese suona on “The Evening Redness in the West” Dana Colley - bass saxophone on “Bad Motel” and “These Wicked Things” Tomas Cruz - backing vocals, voice of Murieta on “Rosita (huapango)” Gita Drummond - boy’s voice on “Childe Roland” Adam Sachs - hand percussion Jane Scarpantoni - cello Stephen Ulrich - lap steel on “The Last Man (Is There Anybody Out There?)” Jacob Valenzuela - mariachi trumpet on “Rosita (huapango)” – FCC Compliant: YES – Especially Recommended Tracks: 8, 11, 14 – Track Reviews: 1. *(2:59) Murieta’s Last Ride - fast drums with fun creepy stuff above 2. (3:44) These Wicked Things - medium-fast cowboy song; sung in early 1940’s Hollywood Western-style 3. (2:26) Bad Motel - Desperado-style story-song 4. **(3:05) Just A Lost, Lost Dream - animated; lyrics get a little lost but excellent music 5. ***(2:35) Crow Killer - instrumental; dark and clunky with eclectic asides 6. ***(3:27) Gone, Gone, Gone - moody but fast piece with over-narration in Jack Nicholson-Chinatown-style then singing; lots of expressive sax 7. (2:17) The Girl From The West Country - instrumental mood music; jawharp oldies western 8. *****(2:17) Rosita (Tango) - who doesn’t like a tango? especially one where they whistle; instrumental with some angry Spanish shouting shadowed in the background at the end 9. (3:26) The Key - relaxed pitch-bent explanatory song 10. **(2:31) All The Pretty Horses - sharp edge in the sound initially, then it opens up to a jazzy reverb experiment 11. ****(4:19) Rosita (Huapango) - guitar solo starts; lovely, graceful Huapango-style song about the loss of Rosita 12. **(1:38) Childe Roland To The Dark Tower Came - haunting instrumental 13. **(2:15) The Evening Redness In The West - picks up from the previous track; instrumental; sharp nightmare discord; STOPS at 2:10 14. ****(6:53) The Last Man (Is Anybody Out There) - story narration again and then song; very interesting ride 15. *(2:21) Long Way Home - another haunting instrumental | ||
| Track Listing |
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