Customer Reviews

One Word

5 star:		(4)
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If you like a little oldtime hop and step in your blues, this is for you. Great forward driving slide guitar, but it's the washboard playing that adds the extra oomph to this music. Best tracks: Cottenwood, Landlord Blues, John Henry, Graverobbers Blues, Long-haired Doeny. Gee, I guess I just listed most of the tracks on the album. I defy you to not stomp your foot and bob your head to this music.

HILLSTOMP PLAYS BACK-WATER, JUKE-JOINT, NORTH MISSISSIPPI HILL COUNTRY BLUES. AND THEY PLAY IT GOOD TOO. HENRY KAMMERER'S SLIDE IS RIGHT ON THE MONEY. AND JOHN JOHNSON'S "WEIRD" PERCUSSION--TIN CANS,WASHBOARD, POT LIDS, ETC.--MAKES IT ALL FIT LIKE A GLOVE. I LIKE "GRAVEROBBER'S BLUES" AND "FLOOD BLUES" AS MY FAVORITES, BUT ALL THE SONGS ON THIS CD ARE GREAT. IF YOU DIG HILL COUNTRY STYLE BLUES, YOU'LL DIG HILLSTOMP'S "ONE WORD". ONE WORD? GREAT!! JERSEY SLIM

Hillstomp is a Portland, Oregon-based duo that plays minimalist, Fat Possum-style blues. Deft acoustic slide guitar and bucket-and-can percussion accompany "sung through a telephone" vocals. Most of the songs are funky and percussive, but "Lucy's Lament" brings in mandolin and group vocals for an old time music feel. What the Old Crow Medicine Show does for old time music, Hillstomp does for the blues - kick out the jams with refreshing energy.

I only bought this album after hearing one song on Last.fm and seeing that they were compared to Left Lane Cruiser. It was well worth my money. I quickly became a fan of them and listened to this album on repeat for several weeks. Only now have I found out that they are on a hiatus. Anyways, the album itself is solid all the way through. I would describe it as blues folk. To me I would call this great southern music despite the fact that they are from Portland. There is a cover of R.L. Burnside's Goin Down South which is fantastic. If you are a fan of Left Lane Cruiser, I would say the music is very similar. The singer's voice is a little more cleaned up than Left Lane Cruiser's. Lyrically the music is simple but enjoyable. There are some interesting and enjoyable stories in these songs. I contantly catch myself bobbing my head. They do an amazing job making wonderful sounds with only two members. I would highly recommend this for fans of Left Lane Cruiser, T Model Ford, Henry's Funeral Shoe, and R.L. Burnside.