Charlie Parr goes out of his way to recreate a sound lost in time – the sound of the local bluesman who sings of his friends and community, the everyday and the exceptional. And Parr keeps it simple. The hirsute Minnesotan told uprootedmusicreview.com that this stripped-down production – featuring his gravelly voice, acoustic guitar (alternated with banjo), plus friends Mikkel Beckmen (washboard et al) and Dave Hundrieser (harmonica) – was recorded in just three hours, mostly in first takes. His style is mainly the syncopated fingerstyle of Piedmont blues, with room for colourful, intense ballads. Opener Jimmy Bell sets the pace and tone: punchy, upbeat but rooted in the primitive. Parr could be in someone's shed, rasping out the fevered likes of Motorcycle Blues and Rattlesnake, or reflecting upon the fate of Henry Goes to the Bank or the chilling childhood memory of Badger . It's gritty and natural, though maybe too much for the un initiated.
Charlieparr.com

Download: Jimmy Bell, Badger