The Builders and the Butchers
Western Medicine
Badman
Street: 07.02
The Builders and the Butchers = Murder by Death + The Devil Makes Three
The Builders and the Butchers channel a dustbowl-era feeling in this itinerant carousal of the post-apocalyptic West. All the elements of nu-folky gospel are there—Jesus-y redemption, moonshine and a banjo. The sense of distance may be due to the fact that Western Medicine boasts a more orchestral flair than the band has previously embraced. This album might not be enjoyed by very many people outside the folk community because (maybe I’m just an asshole), to me, it seems like a never-ending elegy for a cowboy combined with frantic string sections. But for all the folksters who can’t get enough of this kind of stuff and are looking for something a little more than buskerish acoustic music, check this one out. –Jordan Deveraux