A Brief Discourse On Death and Dying; Or, The Gravedigger's Muddy Shovel
Hi Ho, Six Shooter!
Independent, 2006
With a Country and Western feel, mixed in with traditional folk and some Indie Pop moments, A Brief Discourse On Death And Dying is perhaps a misleading title for an album quite straight forward in its musical approach.
Like a Leone Spaghetti Western, A Brief Discourse on Death and Dying begins with a very distinctive instrumental piece, “The Desert in Dawn: A Pale Horse!”, providing the listener with a short burst of Morricone-styled sullenness through echoing harmonicas and mumbling guitar riffs.
The desolation that Morricone expertly captured in his soundtracks to Leone’s work is hinted at through other tracks, as Hi Ho Six Shooter! try to keep the concept of ‘Ye Oldie punk folk’ band alive. “The Fetters That Bind the Dead to the Living” is a prime example, with haunting background vocals and sombre guitar riffs adding bitter sweet texture to vocals with lyrics such as “In the gun fight down at the old saw mill, if you listen close you can here it still’.
“It Don’t Mean a Thang if it Ain’t Got That Swing” however fails in continuing the style and uniqueness seen earlier in the album, resorting to crowd-pleasing, upbeat college-rock riffs and electric guitar choruses, sandblasting any moody vintage stylistics out of sight.
“Oh, The Swimmer’s Golden Form” sadly follows the same route as its predecessor, making you wonder if the group went ‘yella bellied’ with regards to the brooding Wild West concept, for fear of a bad reception.
Regardless of their selling points, Hi Ho Six Shooters! are purely an indie rock band, and while a love of the Old West aesthetic is obvious in the sounds of tracks early on in the album, the depth and mood doesn’t follow suit, leaving A Brief Discourse… stale to those looking for something exciting and abstract.
While songs such as “The Fetters That Bind The Dead To The Living” and “The Grave Diggers Muddy Shovel” have a genuine quality about them with regards to lyrical content, they are in much need of a more gravely, harsher vocal talent than the tunefully popular one provided, not to mention an altogether more brooding sound to pull off the desired effect (Waits, Cave or Munly spring to mind for example). Several more years of stiff whiskey drinking and long lost lovers may provide the adequate environment for Hi Ho Six Shooters! concept to develop out of the safety of popular indie rock. Until then it’s doubtful they’ll be on many wanted lists.
