Search - 16 Horsepower :: Secret South

Streamlined

Raymond Palmerton | Bremerton, Wa. | 10/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I stumbled upon the band quite by accident about four years ago. it was late one night and I was coming back from I someplace I can't remember when "Clogger" came on the radio of a local college station. I liked the song a great deal and heard "Heel on the Shovel" I think a few days later, but couldn't remember the band's name. Several years later I did, and I have been enthralled with the music ever since. I'm not a country fan and I certainly don't consider myself a christian music fan, but it's not about that. It's about the internal struggle, and Edwards draws you into the thick of it. The music takes you into strange land, and if you're comfortable then you're not listening hard enough. This is a more streamlined album than the previous two, but at the same time it's definitely a worthy successor. It's the same aural landscape, it's just a slightly different approach. This album is more accessible due to tracks like "Clogger", "Cinder Alley", and "Praying Arm Lane". "Strawfoot" and "Wayfaring Stranger" are undeniable foot tappers. None of the songs are poor in my reckoning, but to each his own. I consider this work, like all their material to be very important musically- definitely one of the best buys I've made in a long time."

Doesnt get any better than this

Luke A. Miller | AUSTIN TX | 04/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"written with strong spirituallity! A masterpiece of masterpiece's. 16 hp will be one of those bands that will be discovered by the mainstream (fine) artworld years from now. they bring to us a fossil of the past that sheds light on where we have been and where we are going now and forever more."

Altered Sound - Menacing As Ever

Tom Chase | London | 10/15/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Secret South" marks 16 HP's third release, and with improved instrumentation and a richer texture it is superior to the previous works, although their most recent work "Folklore" is their best release to date.



For those new to the band, 16 HP play a dark and brooding style of country music lead by David Eugene Edwards, not in the hillbilly banjo style, but incorporating a sophisticated rock angle into `darkened' country atmospheres. For those fans who have not heard "Secret South" it is similar in style to "Low Estate" but has a more confrontational style with more emphasis on guitars, but retaining the gloomy lyrics touching on religion and man's downfall.



The inclusion of an extra guitarist is evident straight away with the booming opener Clogger, one of 16 HP's most overtly aggressive numbers, really gets the album into motion quickly. The rest of the album is decidedly less aggressive, and more akin to the 16 HP sound with dark soundscapes and menacing vocals from Edwards. Examples of this includes the powerful Cinder Alley with its choral climaxes, the guitar explosions amongst the reserved Poor Mouth and the lovely Dylan cover Nobody Cept You which makes for a rare glimpse of sunshine.



This is an excellent 16 HP release which introduces a slightly altered sound, but retains those moments of melancholy and atmosphere that will keep fans pleased.

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