Band of the Week: The Builders and The Butchers
+ The Builders and The Butchers
There aren’t many bands in P-town these days with more buzz and as much hype as The Builders and The Butchers. And as affirmed by the Willamette Week’s Best New Band award, B&B’s even got the local fish wrap believing in them - which is no easy feat in this town.
Alaska-turned-Portland natives, The Builders and The Butchers certainly appear to have a lot of things going for them… Already notching a major tour on their belts, B&B co-headlined the best of the west coast club circuit last February with Sub Pop veterans, The Helio Sequence. Folks should also take notice of Decemberists’ groove man, Chris Funk, who is taking the band under his wing, agreeing to produce their sophomore release, which is rumored to already include a few recording sessions held in an old burned-out Masonic temple, complete with a live gospel choir. That’s enough to get this writer plenty excited… And through it all, they’ve maintained support from an admirably scrappy Portland label, Bladen County Records, who appears to have done a dynamite job of positioning and finessing B&B into near perfect stride (so far).
Reading descriptions of the band can be nearly as entertaining as listening to their recorded music. Described by some as “Americana Gothic” and even by one fan as “a demon-possessed Southern Baptist preacher leading a requiem at a swamp-set, barn-burning hoedown”, this five-piece troupe includes a banjo, mandolin, organ, trumpet, acoustic guitars, and always two drummers: one beating on the bass drum and the other hammering the snare.
As witnessed by this writer, a B&B live show resembles something of a fun and in-your-face baroque folk marching band, while they are notorious for enlisting friends and random people in the crowd to play extra shakers, tambourines, washboards, and little drums. Regularly, you’ll find front man, Ryan Sollee, stomping around the stage, earnestly singing, sometimes yelling, and occasionally blowing on an old bullhorn - assumably more for aesthetics than sound.
If you enjoy the Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack and yearn for a departure from whatever Pitchfork is selling, The Builders and The Butchers are likely to be just what the doctor ordered. However, let’s be clear about what this band is, as well as what this band isn’t. They are not a pop band, nor do they write many happy melodies that would fit well on the Juno or The Garden State soundtracks. You won’t likely find them appearing in the next iPod commercial, and they don’t subscribe to love songs or catchy hooks…or get caught aiming for harmonies like The Beatles, The Beach Boys, or even The Shins for that matter. Marching to their own beat, The Builders and the Butchers are 100% raw, foot stomping, old country bleeding, lacklusterly arranged, sometimes sloppy, while equally endearing – a what-you-see-is-what-you-get, gospel backwoods symphony. And if that sounds good to you, I highly recommend it.
You can catch the Builders and the Butchers live and sweaty at Seattle’s Capitol Hill Block Party on July 26th at 8pm. In the meantime, here are a couple of tracks to tide you over:
When It Rains (The Builders and The Butchers - 2008)
Spanish Death Song (The Builders and The Butchers - 2008)
Here is a live performance video of The Butchers and The Builders performing with the most wonderful Portland Cello Project - Live at Portland’s Aladdin Theater, April 2008:
You can check out The Builders and The Butchers at their Myspace page at:
+ www.myspace.com/thebuildersandthebucthers
…and I highly recommend picking up their most recent album (self titled), available for purchase at Bladen County Records’ website at:
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