Amps For Christ
"The People At Large" CD (5 Rue Christine)
If Harry Smith's "Anthology Of American Folk Music" had consisted of Indian ragas and static-laden field recordings (instead of the hissing and crackling blues songs and child ballads that it is), it might well have sounded like this. Although I've heard some people criticize this album as little more than noise, it's more immediately interesting than the Deerhoof album reviewed elsewhere in these pages precisely because it combines noise with more traditional elements of American music; it begins with a clear understanding of something which is both familiar and forgotten and proceeds to interpret and update those structures in intriguing ways, yielding an album which may prove to be the equivalent of an old Carter Family session in 80 years. Regardless of its future impact, it's fucking awesome right now and I can't think of anything better to listen to on this stormy Sunday as I wait for the tornado watches to expire.