Josh Roberts and the Hinges/My War Cry is Amor

The most highly anticipated local release of this year (in my book anyway…and by local I’m referring to Columbia, South Carolina) was the sophomore effort of Josh Roberts and the Hinges which hit the streets last month. The band’s first release, 2006’s The Sugarbird Test, was a rollicking effort of 11 originals clocking in at just under 40 minutes that barely allowed the listener to catch their breath. While My War Cry is Amor is a bit more subdued in parts, it’s still a very strong album from a band mostly unknown outside of the Southeast.

Roberts has a knack for writing a catchy melody and the opening track, “The Jowled Hundred” will grab you and pull you in, in no time. And if that one doesn’t, I guarantee you’ll be humming “B & 1 B” after a listen or two. My favorite from the album is “If It Ain’t One Thing Its My Lover,” a slower track that brings to mind Neil Young circa Tonight’s the Night. Roberts’ tenor and rough hewn band are often compared to Young and Crazy Horse and I think it’s often a fair comparison. While Roberts still has a way to go in living up to that category, it’s a good reference point for the uninitiated. “Hand of Man,” a clever take on world happenings, was also one that tended to make me hit repeat and track 2, “Atom Inhabiter,” which was recorded live at a show in Atlanta, (and the only live track on the album) also stands out.

Roberts’ lyrics sometimes border on the absurd and inexplicable but will always make you do a double take. While lyrics from “Buzzard” probably won’t win any great poetic competitions (”I put my corn in the pot/I boiled it and I ate it on the spot”) songs such as “Hand of Man” dig a bit deeper. (”I just think something needs to be said/When the world keeps busy painting streets blood red”) But this is another thing that Young often does, writing about the simple things in life, see Prairie Wind, then turning around and releasing Living With War.

The album may appear a little long at 15 tracks and 73 minutes, but that can be a bit deceptive with the closer, “Be Careful Out There” clocking in at 11:11 and track 10 “Every Brick of Downtown” coming in near 9 minutes. If you haven’t heard of Josh Roberts and the Hinges and are a regular reader of twangville.com, what are you waiting for? Click on a link below.

www.joshrobertsmusic.com

www.myspace.com/joshrobertsandthehingesrock

P.S.

Musicianship is great

Features keyboards by Ryan Monroe (Member of Band of Horses and longtime friend/collaborator of Roberts)

Produced by Alan Moon

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