O'Death - Outside

O'Death is an "alternative country" band from Brooklyn, but you should be making no comparisons to any Uncle Tupelo, or really anything branching off the rock weather vane from the Hank Williams source. O'Death - or at least this release - focuses more on a dark, murder-ballad tradition of Ralph Stanley with a booming orchestration. The traditional elements are there. Violins, mandolins. And an echo chamber and seventy-two percussion instruments. That's what I'm talking about when I say "booming".

I can also draw comparisons away from the current crop of folk stars, the Avett Brothers, Mumford And Sons, etc. The tone is decidedly morose, for one. (Can't wait to hear the first romantic prom sung by O'Death) And the harmonies and pretty sounds that come from the aforementioned Grammy performers is also lacking. Not that it's a bad thing. Greg Jamie's vocals are tinny and small. I maybe even feel like it's deceptively so. As if he's constantly trying to sound like he's hiding in the woods, too close to impending danger.

But the album doesn't rest in the same murky puddle throughout the entire record. "Pushing Out", for example, has all the same elements as its predecessors, but seems brighter and hopeful somehow. Like Decemberists, or even Margot & the Nuclear So and So's. There's an awkward vocal breakdown in the middle, that somehow makes the track more childish and endearing. It's not as precious as "Home", but nice nonetheless.

A haunting collection that should be a part of your next child's funeral. (3 of 5 stars)