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The Gourds - Noble Creatures


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They're playing the single (How Will You Shine?) all over the AAA station here in Austin. It's fine. I'll admit, I haven't listened to them much for the past five years or so. They're a lot of fun live, though. I doubt I'll get the new album, but I'll go to the CD release party.

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I can't wait to hear this. The Gourds are maybe the most underrated band to ever come out of Texas. They're our version of the Band.

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It's streaming on the Gourds' artist page on Yep Roc's site, if anyone's interested. "Steeple Full of Swallows" has waited a long, long time to make it on a Gourds album. Beautiful song.

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I heart Jimmy Smith.

 

The Gourds are absolutely underrated, maybe because they're far too weird to conform to country or even most "alt-country" standards, and their twang probably makes it tough to make critical inroads amongst the tastemaking Indie Mafia. Maybe "Gin & Juice" pigeonholed them to some extent, but I just think people are biased against accordion and mandolin in rock. I thought Heavy Ornamentals was a somewhat flat effort, devoid of a lot of the unbridled quirkiness that makes Ghosts of Hallelujah one of my favorite hidden treasures, but I'm always eager to hear what dem beeble will do next. They're all genuinely nice guys, too- I've chatted with them several times after shows.

 

Long live Fatty Carmelo!

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Long live Fatty Carmelo!

 

Gonna wrap some roses, ah ah ah, snug in a tortilla, ah ah yeah

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  • 1 year later...

From Yep Roc

 

 

"The Gourds to release Haymaker! on January 6th

 

 

Pre-order Haymaker! at the Yep Roc Web Shop and get the bonus tracks, "Green Beans Killed The Devil" and "Tequila Will Destroy Yer Soul"! The DRM-free MP3 will be available for download in your Stash as soon as you complete your order.

 

Cosmic country rockers The Gourds will capture their live energy on Haymaker! their new studio album due out January 6th, 2009.

 

Continuing the Gourds round trip through the outer reaches of the roots music universe and back again, Haymaker! takes the best of the band's classic eccentricities and melds it with the more linear narratives coined on last year's critically acclaimed Noble Creatures.

 

The attention garnered by Kevin "Shinyribs" Russel's classic ballads "Promenade" and "Steeple Full of Swallows" from Noble Creatures is indicative of the more straight ahead leanings exhibited on Haymaker! Here, vintage Gourds boogie twang ("Country Gal") stands along side Jimmy Smith's tunes quintessential Texas character studies ("Thurman," "Bridgett"). Where normally Jimmy's famous non sequiturs and dense reference-heavy lyrics are normally a Gourds mainstay, on Haymaker! the second half of the Gourds psychic songwriting apparatus opted for a more direct approach. Says Smith, "If I frame a song in history, or use real names instead of pronouns, my content might be less cryptic to the listener. So it's win win, I get to be the usual freaky lyrical scag and sharpen the listeners machete at the same time."

 

Samples up here

Gourds - Haymaker!

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:pirate Tweedling and I saw The Gourds last Friday @ Threadgill's. :pirate

 

Terrific show on a cool and breezy Austin night with many close friends to share it with.

They even announced a new album soon. :dancing

I love that pic! "Look at what Max Johnston is up to these days!"

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