Beauty in Chaos has always chosen well, in terms of the people who are invited into Michael Ciravolo’s revolving door project, the sonic choices he makes regarding his own music, and also in the musical selections when it comes to covering other people’s songs.
And if you want an example of this, what has just landed in my review pile is not only a double A-side single (as we used to call them in pre-digital times) from one of the consistently most exciting bands of recent times paying tribute to two of my favourite artists of…well, ever!
“God’s Gonna Cut You Down,” the first of this beatific brace of songs, takes the traditional gospel hymn that Johnny Cash bent to his own sonic will and reshapes it again to fit Beauty in Chaos’ rootsy-rock-gothic vision. The result is a song that feels like it should have made it to the Sinners soundtrack, a blend of apocalyptic blues and shaded sonics, early rock and roll resonance, and, helped by the video, a soaking in Southern gothic mystic.
Then, they take The Mescaleros’ (Joe Strummer’s post-Clash* band) “Get Down Moses” and remind us of what an overlooked and underrated band they were. They ramp up the rock-swing and reggae groove, the ska licks, and the pioneering two-tone sound that first merged punk and reggae in the underground clubs of late seventies Coventry, in a way that both pays tribute and continues the story.
At a time of year when nostalgia seems rife, Michael Ciravolo and his sonic gang give us some wonderful musical memories, ones with real depth and feeling. At a time when we are also looking to the coming year, they deftly demonstrate that the future of music is in safe hands. Very safe hands indeed.
God’s Gonna Cut You Down / Get Down Moses single
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