Sundry Mayhems by Black Jake & The Carnies
‘Sundry Mayhems’, released May 1st in Europe, in the midst of the Carnies well received, 2-week, 3-country tour in Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany, and self-released domestically on June 1. Black Jake & the Carnies backwoods-meets-concrete sound melds old-timey strings with fast-paced lyrics and a punk rock ethos. On their second full length record, Black Jake spins cautionary tales about poisonous prosperity, diabolic pied pipers, mass hysteria, and an evil chicken. Each tale features an original painting and lyrics in a 24-page songbook insert (and as metadata in digital downloads). The record was recorded by Joe Allsop at Pretty Suite Recording, mixed by Geoff Michael at Big Sky Studio, and mastered by Grammy winner Rueben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering.
The first single, “Farmer Had Him Rats”, tells the story of a farmers battle with an army of rats, and luring the rats to their death by giving them what they want, but with a little bit of poison mixed into his secret recipe. Jeff Milo (Deep Cutz) describes the record as having "blurring see-saw strings, a mean washboard, a wheezy accordion, angular, tinny banjos and mandolins and zingy, mercurial (yet melodious) lead vocals girded by poignant, rousing choruses (even some opera mixed in), at 0-60-and-back-again tempos. "
Find dark solutions to dark times dressed in the Carnies' bright tones of banjo, fiddle, bass, accordion, mandolin, drums, washboard, and cowbell. If the Pogues and Alice Cooper had a love child that grew up in the sticks, hung out with a bad crowd from the city, then got its ass kicked by Johnny Cash, got religion, skipped church and joined a circus, you'd have Black Jake & the Carnies.
"The bluegrass/folk/insanity theme works really well for these Carnies! Black Jake and Carnies was hands down the most energetic, wild, and flat-out enjoyable set of the entire weekend. I was a skeptic at first, but as soon as I saw the first Carnie jump from a 10 ft. speaker to the stage WITH HIS INSTRUMENT, I was sold. Sign me up for the next circus please!?" GREG MOLITOR, MUSIC MARAUDERS
Tracklist
| 1. | Sundry Mayhems | 3:37 |
| 2. | All The Difference | 3:39 |
| 3. | Last Ecstatic Liniment | 6:44 |
| 4. | Farmer Had Him Rats | 2:43 |
| 5. | My Angel Marie | 5:02 |
| 6. | Old E. Cross | 3:19 |
| 7. | Cornbread Molly | 5:57 |
| 8. | My Evil Friend | 2:57 |
| 9. | Old Scratch Radio Variety Show | 6:00 |
| 10. | Smoke & Mirrors | 4:25 |
| 11. | Ypsitucky Rustbelt Revival | 4:54 |
