I got my first listen of a few songs off the Builders and the Butchers new album Dead Reckoning, back in September, and from what I heard I was thrilled.
This week I got to hear the whole thing, and can I just say – HOLY CRAP.
Now that’s out of the way, let’s proceed, shall we?
This Alaska-via-Portland folk band set the bar pretty high with their last album, Salvation is a Deep Dark Well, drenching it with dark mythical parables and so many heavy hooks that you wouldn’t even think it possible with an acoustic guitar, banjo, and mandolin.
But Dead Reckoning is exactly what it should be – a sequel to Salvation. It takes the dark themes that album did so splendidly and runs with them even deeper into this other world that no other band I’ve heard explore. It’s what goes through our heads on our most awful days but gives it a beat you can dance to.
The album starts with “I Broke the Vein,” an epic track that builds to a grand finish, similar to the way “Golden and Green” did on Salvation. After that comes the the soul-filled groove “Rotten to the Core,” then “It Came from the Sea,” which almost hints at a waltz, but the Builders and the Butchers are always full of surprises.
“Lullaby” is by far one of the best songs of the album with the carrying interlude of “la da da da da da das” that’s undeniably catchy. Most of this album is catchy and full of great hooks, but a couples softer stand-outs are “All Away,” the most beautiful I’ve ever heard from the Builders and the Butchers, and “Out of the Mountain,” a bluesy lament with quite depressing lyrics about a black heart and setting the earth on fire, but hey, everyone has a bad day. It would be a pretty good soundtrack to a particularly downtrodden mood.
After the blues, we’re given what sounds like a demo version of “Blood For You,” which is completely unmastered, almost like they played it in a garage and recorded just from the ambient sound. It’s a perfect representation of the passion and sound that comes from this band. But my favourite track is “Black Elevator,” with shares the same soul of “Rotten to the Core,” and the same dark theme as well. I mean, the song is called “Black Elevator” for crying out loud. Builders and the Butchers, how is it that you can make us want to dance to a song about going to hell? I love it.
I just love Dead Reckoning. It’s amazing on record and even more amazing live, so I suggest you go see when the Builders and the Butchers are coming to your town next, because it’s an unmatched energy that you surely won’t regret taking the time to see.
Upcoming tour (with Damion Suomi and the Minor Prophets):
