But This Chicken Proved Falsehearted [Bonus Tracks]

by Sam Amidon

Overview

Sam Amidon and Thomas Bartlett break away from the sweet indie pop of their Doveman work and instead explore traditional folk. On their collaborative debut, But This Chicken Proved Falsehearted, a sad, pretty record that moves effortlessly from slow indie rock to folk, they cover old field songs -- as well as a Tears for Fears track, "Head Over Heels" -- with a touching sensitivity. Sometimes the duo sticks more closely to the original arrangement and instrumentation, with the necessary emphatic banjos, picked acoustic guitars, and twanged vocals, like on the rollicking "Rocky Island," the broken love of "Falsehearted Chicken," or the bluesy "Another Man Done Gone" (which Johnny Cash performed a cappella), but more often they add instruments -- Wurlitzer, electric guitar, organ, accordion -- to give a fuller, more contemporary, and often more melancholic sound to the pieces. While the Mississippi John Hurt cover, "Louis Collins," is certainly sad when played by the bluesman on his acoustic guitar, Amidon has such longing in his voice that, when paired with Bartlett's simple drums and the sustained organ chords, the line "The angels laid him awake/Laid him six feet under the clay" becomes one of desperation and pain rather than redemption and hope. Amidon and Bartlett's power lies in their subtlety, how they layer without overstating, keeping the integrity of the original while bringing on something of the modern. Even the (very few) times that a distorted electric guitar comes in, like in "True Born Sons of Levi" -- in which Amidon's tenor cracks marvelously -- it doesn't overpower the rest of the song; it only works to emphasize the emotion already there. The tracks are reinterpreted but not reinvented, respecting the craft of the writers while still allowing for creative adaptation. Sam Amidon and Thomas Bartlett breathe new life into old and sometimes forgotten songs, which ends up making But This Chicken Proved Falsehearted a fantastic listen. ~ Marisa Brown

Product Details

Release Date:	12/04/2015
Label:	Omnivore
UPC:	0816651015047
Rank:	96345

Tracks

1. Falsehearted Chicken
2. True Born Sons of Levi
3. Interlude
4. Head Over Heels
5. 1842
6. Interlude
7. Another Man Done Gone
8. Louis Collins
9. Interlude
10. Roll on John
11. Rocky Island
12. Tribulation
13. Oh Where Louis Collins
14. Bourbon and Levi
15. Another Man Done Gone
16. Tribulation
17. The Moon Shines Bright, the Stars They Give Light
18. The Moon Shines Bright, the Stars They Give Light
19. Bourbon and 1842
20. Rocky Island
21. Won¿¿¿t Turn Back
22. Saro Bounce
23. Saro Bounce

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Sam Amidon   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guitar,Banjo
Thomas   Various Instruments
Sam   Banjo,Guitar,Vocals

Technical Credits

John Lomax   Composer
Ruby Tartt   Composer
Ezra Caldwell   Photography
Ethan Miller   Design
Gabriel Greenberg   Colorist,Coloring
Ruby Pickens Tartt   Composer
Johnny Cash   Composer
John Hurt   Composer
Curt Smith   Composer
Thomas Bartlett   Composer,Arranger
Sam Amidon   Composer,Arranger,Drawing,Design
Alan Lomax   Composer
Vera Hall   Composer
Roland Orzabal   Composer
Charlie Pilzer   Mastering
Estil C. Ball   Composer
Ruby Pickness Tartt   Composer
Traditional   Composer
E.C. Ball   Composer