Customer Reviews

After the Flood

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great CD for bluegrass lovers and celtic music lovers! Absolutely high energy excellent musicianship and a great attitude! I would absolutely love to see these folks perform live! If you are looking for something uplifting this will have you dancing in no time!

Don't Canadian musicians rock?!!

What do you get when you take a basic bluegrass sound, throw in every other form of music thatcan support a mandolin and fiddle, sculpt it with a strong young songwriter, and season it with several years of indie releases and long tours before putting it on major-label disc for the first time? You get this CD.

The sticker on the shrink-wrap calls it a fusion of Bluegrass and Celtic music. That's part of it. You can also hear the influence of gospel, Gypsy, country, blues, and rock on several tracks. Traditional instrumentals and adaptations punctuate sharp songs like "Mercy," "Scarce," and "Everything's Okay." The mini-opera that runs from "House and Home" through to "Waterbound" is witty and well-constructed. This is a CD to play often.

There are hints that the band's main songwriter, Chris Jonat, may have competition in the near future from bandmates Trevor Rogers and Andrea Lewis. If that's the case, we may live to see even more mature, sophisticated work from this band. Even if that isn't the case, this is one of the bast major-label CDs to come down the pike in a decade.

Reviewer Johnny Loftus called the Clumsy Lovers' CD "fingerpicking mayhem" which is probably a kinder description than my own which was "John Hartford on speed." This Canadian band from western Ontario rocks with a vengeance. Jason Homey's banjo and Chris Jonat's mandolin give the Lovers a traditional sound that will make fans of Nickel Creek want to give a listen. Chris Jonat stuffs words assiduously inside buoyant melodies with a bit of humor, much as John Hartford used to do. For example, on "Everything's Okay" they sing, "You've seen scenes so serene like red makes you rage but you sleep to green." The instrumentals "Groove Set," "Waterbound" & "Highland Skip" are wonderful little bolts that fly by at lightning pace. "Amen" is a great ballad that for me has a Bob Dylan flare, assuming he did a bluegrass set. On their first major-label disc, there may not be a great standout single track like Nickel Creek had, but everything is consistently strong and delightful. This is a high energy set that will set you toe to tapping. Enjoy!

Only a band with great players in it could marry stylistic influences so diverse, and pull it off flawlessly. "After the Flood" is a heady brew that will definitely give you a buzz of happiness.

From the first song, you will know that you are in for something different. "(A)Better Me" introduces a sound that melds 90's alternative pop with American bluegrass and Celtic reels and jigs reminiscent of Fairport Convention.

The surprises don't stop there. This band can range through Latin and Reggae rhythms---sometimes in the same song. They can call forth everyone from "Dexy's Midnight Runners" to Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. The lyrics are clever, and the bass and drums kick butt, sometimes sounding amazingly like Fairport Convention's Dave Pegg and Dave Mattacks.

A word to the wise: Bluegrass purists Beware! This is not an album of Beverly Hillbillies' style breakdowns. But this band DOES feature a monstrously talented banjo player, and the music takes a lot of risks. The result is infectiously happy music, and the band sounds like it's enjoying itself enormously.

CATCH THIS BAND IF IT'S IN YOUR VICINITY! They can play rings around other Celtic-influenced bands like the Decemberists. They just haven't gotten the hype, yet. Listen to them, and you'll want to pass the word to others.

I LOVE this CD! The Clumsy Lovers get you up on your feet and dancing. They manage to blend bluegrass, celtic, ska, pop, and rock together into a high energy, fun sound. The lyrics are very well written. All of the band members are incredible musicians. I highly recommend 'After the Flood' to any fan of bluegrass, fiddle, banjo, or folk music. I never get tired of listening to this CD. My favorite tracks: Waterbound, Better Me, Amen, House and Home, Spare in the Trunk, Scarce, Rest, Checking Out.

Following a Celtic rhythmic inclination that adapts synthesizers and contemporary Appalachian vocals, The Clumsy Lovers provide a driving Rock & Roll bass track and intertwining bluegrass melodies. Electric guitar and violin chase each other for the lead parts on "Amen" & "After The Flood", as many traditional melodies are incorporated over new lyrics and vocals that reflect modern-day speech inflections. If you like Scruggs-style banjo, then this record is recommended for the incorporation of it into most tracks. Eastern melodies are flirted with, and the five-string takes care of the modal rolls. These guys are country, and they know it. You can hear South Carolina all over this record, and probably bet your last dollar that these folks have the potential to be a gateway for the older music into traditional pop circles. [...]

Put this in your blender and shake it up -- uptempo bluegrass, Celtic fiddles and mandolins, accordions, consistently good writing, a little seduction, and a good measure of Christian imagery (the latter two actually get combined at least once in one of the best cuts, Mercy), even a little shot of ska. The result is After the Flood, over fifty minutes of music impossible to sit still to. 15 songs, three instrumentals, one of which -- Groove Set -- combines three traditional songs and flows without a pause out of the preceding cut, Everything's Okay. The Flood suite covers four or five cuts in the middle of the CD, but my highlights lie around it -- Better Me, Mercy, Miss You Much, Scarce, and Rest.

Like me, you may not have heard of The Clumsy Lovers, but take the plunge into After the Flood. The rewards are instant and constant.

The Clumsy Lovers are a band from Vancouver and have been around for several years - mostly touring like crazy. They are fantastic live! Their shows are full of energy, and you can't help but get up and dance. They are also excellent musicians. Andrea is great on the fiddle, and Jason rocks on the banjo and mandolin! After the Flood is certainly their best studio album so far, and you will enjoy it even if you have never seen them live. Buy this CD now!

I've been following the band since 1999. The new C.D. sounds awesome! I've always thought of the Clumsy Lovers as a live band and I own the live album, but I think that they've finally put out a studio recording that kicks ass but is still charming. I know 5 stars is a lot of stars, but that's how i feel and i hope that this will encourage newomers to pick up a copy of After the Flood.

This music lifts me up when I am feeling down...