February 21 2008
The Pine Hill Haints – Ghost Dance
The Pine Hill Haints are a bit like The Ramones of the rockabilly world: they blaze through short bursts of country fried backwoods rock with equal parts enthusiasm and workman-like dedication. Though their main modus operandi is a stomping hillbilly hootenanny composed of tub-thumping bass, bluegrass-inflected guitar, washboard, rail line drums, and vocals that seem to seep back from the Great Depression, Ghost Dance also has it’s share of ballads and spooky, folkloric moments (”Garden of the Dead,” “Walkin’ Talkin’ Deadman”) that recall a rougher Squirrel Nut Zippers. And that’s what sets The Pine Hill Haints apart from the masses of modern rockabilly bands that form a homogeneous, uninteresting tableau—a little authenticity goes a long way. Their music isn’t slick or cleaned-up; true to their inspirations, their songs are hewn by hand and just gritty enough to show that these folks know the roots of the music they play. Apparently they like it just fine the way it is, without any unnecessary gussyin’ up.
