It’s been a while since I’ve had an album make me smile, then completely gut me, then make me smile again.
Bravo, Tillers.
The Tillers may owe their style to traditional Appalachian music, but unlike most of the folkies I’ve been listening to these last few years, there’s an energy and urgency to this music that makes it seem like these boys made it up themselves, rather than walking in the footsteps of their ancestors.
It’s not that their irreverent. It’s not that they’re too clever by half. It’s not that they’re trying to innovate when some things are just best alone. Through the band’s political work, The Tillers’ music has a stridency and urgency that demands you to concede that their music is still interesting and valid. Hand on the Plow is certainly one of the stronger albums this year.
The Tillers — Official, Facebook, Buy Hand on the Plow on CD, Vinyl, Digital