It's almost a music industry cliché by now: every so often a group of punk rock kids will get bored, discover an archaic music style from decades (or even centuries) past, and adopt it for their own. The results can be arch and self-important (
Cordelia's Dad's hipper-than-thou folk revivalism) or infectiously joyful (
Squirrel Nut Zippers' frantic hot jazz revivalism), and sometimes they can be both, as is the case with the
Old Scratch Revival Singers. This group, which formed around a core of former members of the
Heart Attacks, specializes in a wheezy sort of 19th century sound, like what a village band in an old New England town might sound like if it were led by
Tom Waits. They also have some kind of haunted house fixation, which leads them into some embarrassingly faux-spooky moments -- notably the giggle-inducing "Rosa Kidney" and the just plain silly "Rosa Larrabee" ("everybody knows this house is haunted," yada yada yada). At their best, though, the
Old Scratch Revival Singers achieve a sort of woozy, boozy, almost accidental grace, as they do on the queasy but strangely attractive "Sing My Funeral Song" and the (intentionally) poorly recorded "Blackberry Brandy." Sure to inspire quizzical looks around the room at your next party. ~ Rick Anderson