CREECH HOLLER: With Signs Following

Creech Holler

With Signs Following

© 2006 Creech Holler (634479399312)

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Blood soaked, Whiskey Sippin', Overdriven Appalachian Murder-Blues.

notes

Creech Holler plays the music of midnight whiskey stills and front porches. of those whose sole act of contrition before god was to make song of their sin and sorrow. of those who have been to dark places, and who left their soul there. of those who deemed it necessary to kill some poor son of a bitch who had it coming to them, and then deemed it necessary to sing a song about it. of those who loved the sacred and the profane in equal measure; who played the devil's music on saturday night, and god's music on sunday morning. of those who have trod black paths so long that they have forgotten the light, but not so long so as to forget to bring their gun and a shovel. of those who saw fit to salve their wounds with the banjo, the fiddle, the guitar. of those who know no other way to touch the face of god than to take the venomous serpent to their breast, and drink deadly things, and take up fire, and live or die by the power of their faith and the force of their will and the sweat of their backs. creech holler is the hills and hollers of east tennessee and the fields of the delta, and the regret and desires and vain hopes of redemption buried under their soil. it's everywhere that america's bad blood flows and gives birth to hymns to the wrong that lives in low men's hearts. it's the ghosts of america's music reborn in furious electricity.

Jeff Zentner: Vocals, Clawhammer and Bottleneck Guitar
Joseph Campbell: Bass, Melodica, Vocals
Christian Brooks: Drums, Footstomp, Tambourine, Vocals

reviews

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  • Who knows...enjoy the music.
    author: Vito Genovese

    Hmm, what to think of this? Creech Holler is, for the most part, the band that can be thanked for having attracted me to the site which I've been exploring and buying from very recently, and it's all because I looked this band up in Google that I found it. The prospect of the music interested me (southern gothic country rock? wtf!), and I was determined to get my hands on something that sounded that innovative. Needless to say more, I caved and made the purchase as soon as I could. Let me just stop by saying that the bizarre fact that I came across this band lies in the fact that I typed 'screech owl' into the RateYourMusic search bar, and this came up instead. How I love chaos theory. One surprise about this album: it's more country than gothic, and it's certainly more country than rock. I have no problem if an album is country-influenced, but there are some spots on here that are too twangy and stuff for me. Even with that said, there are the gothic rock moments that just kill. The blend is almost exactly like I had hoped for in some spots, while in others it is severely lacking. The album art reflects the music very well: mysterious, sunbaked, musty, and grizzly; that's what the music is here. The vocals tend to put me off in some parts, but in others they're just fine. No moments in them, however, really jump out at me. They serve their purpose though. Delving deeper into the album, you'll meet a dark cynicism that I didn't think could ever exist in country music. Dark music is something that we all enjoy, and Creech Holler's darker tunes here show that the band is fully capable of rivaling Joy Division and early-The Cure for the deep, layered "cut my wrists and black my eyes" style (not that the two aforementioned legends are that way). There are even some of the country parts that I myself can enjoy, particularly towards the end of the record. I love it when something you normally don't enjoy comes out and pleases you. While this album has a couple of forgettable moments in the first half, it picks up immensely in the second half, and I have to say that it holds enough water for me to say that I like it quite a bit. It's great, really. It's an album that I can only see myself listening to on occasion, really. The sort of records that need a certain mood to listen to them are usually true gems, and perhaps things will show for this innovative release? Who knows...enjoy the music.

  • Mesmerising
    author: lilly

    What a great ride. I saw these guys live in savannah, ga a few weeks ago and all I can say is it was really other-worldly. They are definitely doing exactly what they were made to do. While the music feels very dark there is a sweetness present. There's an ancient feel to their music. At the same time it's really fresh. Amazing.

  • With a sound that's part black magic and part reverent Southern evangelista
    author: Knoxville Metro Pulse

    With a sound that's part black magic and part reverent Southern evangelista, Murfreesboro-based Creech Holler plays to exorcise its own demons, but also to flaunt them in front of others, those who don't have the same gifts of darkness. The sound is frightening, but also liberating, in the same way that a good scare leaves you exhilarated and wanting more. With only drums, guitar, bass and the occasional tambourine, the trio conjures an entire history, and an entire world buried beneath the everyday mundane. It creates feelings worth exploring, the same you might hope to find in a small church way off the interstate, where things are strange, and full of fire and brimstone and shadowy demons. Also, there might be snake taming. (Lisa Slade)

  • ...grungy drama that revels in the gothic mystery of the south.
    author: Kentucky Amplifier, Bowling Green KY

    With Signs Following - Creech Holler (self-release) From the first distorted strains of the opener "Pretty Polly," you're put on notice that Creech Holler is a different kind of trip. The sound on their debut release is a grungy drama that revels in the gothic mystery of the south. The Murfreesboro trio's mix of originals and folk traditionals, combined with a sound both ethereal and raw, have the edge and danger of snake handlers in church or Civil War re-enacters using real bullets and firing on the spectators. Songs like "Lester Ballard" and "Wild Bill Jones" have that ominous edge to them. The galloping "Country Blues" has an eerie irresistibility, while the dark "The Gospel of Judas" could be at home on a western soundtrack if it were made by Quentin Tarantino. "Black Mountain" makes literal what the rest of the music here implies – there's blood in them there hills. Creech Holler's music is definitely worth experiencing, and they're playing Tidballs on March 31. Visit www.myspace.com/creechholler to obtain one of 2007's most noteworthy independent releases. Kentucky Amplifier, Bowling Green KY

  • merges the string-band tradition with electric blues-rock
    author: Kingsport Times, Kingsport TN

    There's a long tradition of white rockers who claim to be "influenced" by the rural, black bluesmen of the pre-World War II era. In shorter supply are rockers who pay homage to the period's white bluesmen. Creech Holler looks to change that. The trio — Jeff Zentner (vocals, clawhammer banjo, bottleneck guitar), Christian Brooks (drums, tambourine, foot stomps, vocals) and Kingsport native Joseph Campbell (bass, melodica, vocals) — sees white hillbilly musicians such as Southwest Virginia's Dock Boggs as being on equal blues footing with Robert Johnson and his black contemporaries. Their debut album merges the string-band tradition with electric blues-rock, thus sounding like the missing link between Southern Appalachia and classic rock radio. In Creech Holler's hands, "Pretty Polly" is rescued from the clutches of bluegrass and given the kind of eerie treatment normally reserved for "Crossroads." Ditto Boggs' spooky "Country Blues," transformed here into a frenetic juke blues. String-band staples like "Little Mattie Grove" and "Wild Bill Jones" have a sinister vibe, as do hypnotic Creech Holler originals like "The Gospel of Judas" and "Black Mountain." This is fierce, dark, passionate music that should be investigated by fans of the contemporary garage-band movement.

  • author: Twang Nation

    Creech Holler is the sound of sin and redemption of another time when such matters were taken as gospel and music was the stories that frightened children and set them on the path to righteousness. Like a ghost hillbilly band you hear playing from the bottom of that long dry water well, you know the one, it’s where that little Jackson girl drowned back in the 40’s. Creech Holler is both joyous and spooky in their particular brand of lonely gothic Americana. Twang says check ‘em out.

  • Creech Holler is the sound of sin and redemption of another time
    author: Twangnation.com

    Creech Holler is the sound of sin and redemption of another time when such matters were taken as gospel and music was the stories that frightened children and set them on the path to rightousness. Like a ghost hillbilly band you hear playing from the bottem of that long dry water well, you know the one, it’s where that little Jackson girl drowned back in the 40’s. Creech Holler is both joyous and spooky in their particular brand of lonely gothic Americana. Twang says check ‘em out.

  • what’s right with The North Mississippi All-stars minus what’s wrong with The No

    These guys remind me of what’s right with The North Mississippi All-stars (Shake Hands With Shorty) minus what’s wrong with The North Mississippi All-stars (Polaris)….and I freaking love The North Mississippi All-stars, so you can imagine what I think of these guys. I don’t know the first thing about the blues, but I know what I like, and I fucking like these guys. Oddly enough, they don’t even put blues in their genre description…shows you what I know. However, under Type of Label it does say none and that is a fucking shame. So, check out these tracks, and if you like what you hear, go buy a god damned CD.

  • author: The Great American Music Hour

    These guys take you to some serious, heavy places using the language, and sometimes, the literal songs of another era to illuminate our own. “Poor Ol’ Maddie” and “Black Mountain” are dark songs from the weird, old America that doesn’t exist much anymore in mainstream culture. This album reminds me of Snakefarm or Jim White, in that it both exhumes old forms and makes them new again. This is not easy listening, but if you want to understand how we got where we are, it is certainly required listening.

  • for a second i thought i was down south
    author: Jillian

    agreed- this album certainly did make me want to kill a possum... but it did more than that. (no, it did not make me want to kill a person.) these songs paint crude and scratchy, yet beautiful, pictures, decked with religion and sin. they make me forget where i am...

  • author: Skullring.org

    The music of Creech Holler is earthy, dark and riddled with secrets - just like the mountains that birthed it.

  • author: Macon Telegraph, Macon GA

    This Tennessee trio explores the darker side of Americana, employing melodica, tambourine and droning guitar to create a spooky sonic mood. If you liked the canceled HBO series ‘Carnivale,’ you'll probably like this band. Both deal with the Bible, the conflict between good and evil and the forthright passions of rural whites.

  • made me want to kill a possum...
    author: dunderfunk

    Very cool CD. Goes well with my home brew, out in the garage on a cloudy overcast evening, two dogs laying by the double door watching the trannie prositutes in the alley with yellow eyes narrowed and teeth bared. CD Baby rocks. These CDs fly by personal jet to my door and showed up within a few days. www.dunderfunk.squarespace.com jax, fl usa

  • author: --TRICITIES.COM, Johnson City TN

    Serving up a musical experience that is both modern and timeless, Creech Holler offers an innovative approach to The South’s musical history.

  • author: --The 11th Hour, Macon GA

    Military drumbeats, foot stomps and yes, hollers - these boys'll sure conjure up a ghost in the broad light of mid-day or, shake hands with the rattlesnakes of mountain faith.

  • author: --BLUES IN LONDON.COM, London UK

    If you can only afford to buy five independent records this year then I suggest you make this one of them.

  • author: -–METRO PULSE, Knoxville TN

    Creech Holler is the stuff of nightmares, not because the music's bad, but because the sound conjures backwoods Baptist churches, Deliverance, and intense electrical storms on a night home alone. It'll make you spin around real fast, just to make sure no one's behind you.

  • author: --MOUNTAIN EXPRESS, Asheville NC

    ...a Tennessee-based trio who do this crazed amalgamation of old-time ballads (“Pretty Polly,” “Plague of Frogs”) set to loud, grungy blues rock. It’s very dark and eerie and completely satisfying.

  • The stuff!!
    author: Filo Bedoe

    This CD is awesome.Grab your rattle snakes and your jug of mash.And head out to the porch for some stompin and some sippin.Can't wait for the next one.

  • author: 11th Hour, Macon GA

    Of the Americana/Roots Music acts to surface in and around the South, few have tackled the spooky and gothic the way Creech Holler has. Their effort is less intent on aping the sounds of Dixie than exploring the mythic darkness in its piney woods. The opening track, “Pretty Polly,” is a headlong ramble down the Appalachians in a car whose wheels are on fire while the boys inside swig their bootleg shine. “Plague of Frogs,” which closes out the CD, comes across like gospel singing in a snake-handling church, as much an invitational hymn as a choral rite of exorcism. In between, the band’s originals and reworked traditional songs bear witness to the virtues of the raucous and reflective alike, paying homage to the glut of influences that merged in the South to create its music.

  • author: The Chattanooga Pulse, Chattanooga TN

    This Nashville band channels traditional, pain-laced, bluesy Appalachian music and through electric guitars, amps and drums for the younger generation. Its both a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll.

  • author: The Nashville Scene, Nashville TN

    ...the trio sound as though they are possessed by fanatical, old, whiskey-swilling spirits.

  • author: Timonthy Edward Jones

    Creech Holler is a genre of its own. Who else in Music City, USA has the balls to sing the blues and preach the Gospel while chain-smokin' Prince Albert "roll you owns" and sippin' illegal sour mash? I have immensely enjoyed the music I've heard from these Apostles of Deep South depravity. Some would say the music isn't commercial....I say it ain't s'pposed ta be! (Commercialism would taint the pure essence of THE MESSAGE.

  • author: The Flagpole, Athens GA

    Blood-soaked country blues and front-porch whiskey ballads from this Tennessee trio.

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