Guess what? No, not chicken butt. No, also not chicken thigh. Look, you are really bad at this game. Tell you what, I will just tell you instead of having you guess. To save time. I’m sure you would’ve gotten it eventually.
Carolyn Mark and NQ Arbuckle are putting out an album together! I KNOW! They’re two of the best country/roots artists in a country that is full of amazing country/roots artists. Also, they employed a lot of amazing country/roots artists to come in and play on the album! It’s set for release Oct. 13 on Mint. Yipee kiyay!
I’ve been listening to the most recent albums by both Ms. Mark and NQ and I’m impressed all over again. Normally, I like my country rootsy and rockin’. The more banjo pickin’ and mandolin-strummin’ and standup basses being slapped around, the better. If I absolutely HAVE to listen to a country ballad, I want it to be mellow, not whiney and twangy. Basically, I want it to sound like it’s been soaking in an oak barrel with a bunch of whisky for at least three years.
Mission accomplished, guys.
I feel quite comfortable saying “The Business End” is easily the best song on Carolyn Mark’s last album, Nothing is Free. It has the kind of slow, torturous burn you get from falling asleep in the sun. You shut your eyes for a few minutes cuz it’s so warm and nice, and when you wake up an hour later, your skin is so hot that if you hold your hand close, you can feel the heat radiate like you’re some kind of fragile, white-flaked coal.
NQ Arbuckle’s “I Liked You Right From The Start” is a drunken serenade from a decent guy who’s downed a few too many. He’s not quite sloppy drunk, but he wants to let you know that he’s had his eye on you all night and he thinks you’re sumpthin’ awright *hic* and maybe, just maybe, you’ll be charmed enough by his drunken honesty to let him take you home. And you’ll think about it. Flattery, even drunken flattery, gets you everywhere, after all. Besides, you had a few yourself. This will be a mistake of epic proportions, but it might be a mistake that results in a meaningful relationship. And when the grandkids come along years down the road and ask how gammy and pop-pop met, you will look into the eyes of your beloved and say “online dating site” because it is less embarrassing than revealing that you drunkenly went home with a dude and ended up cleaning up his puke.
If you live in Guelph, you can see Carolyn Mark live TONIGHT at Van Gogh’s Ear! That’s just down the street from me! (Don’t come over. My apartment is such a mess.) She’s playing with Sunbear and one of my favourite Ontario bands, $100.
You want to talk about heart-breakingly sad country ballads, these guys do that. They do that soooo well. They’re achingly good. Singer Simone Fornow’s voice is not pretty, but it is real and raw. It’s Marianne Faithfull meets Maybelle Carter. Her croaky, haunting cry of “I never come but it don’t matter” on “Careless Love” is the resigned suffering of every woman left unsatisfied (or worse) by a brutal man. You would do well to buy their album, Forest of Tears.
I saw them earlier this summer at Wally’s with Deep Dark Woods. That was an amazing show and tonight’s do at Van Gogh’s sounds like it’s also going to be a hot time in the ol’ town as well! So go see it and don’t be dumb like I was last time: Buy your merch early or $100 will disappear into the night and take their albums with them.
Carolyn Mark’s music can be found on Mint Records, NQ Arbuckle calls Six Shooter Records home. You can get $100 stuff at Sonic Unyon and check out all three at Zunior and yes, iTunes.
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