Saddle of Southern Darkness - S/T (Self-Released)

Denver, Colorado’s Saddle of Southern Darkness is an alternative folk trio with a raw and gloomy style, bolstered by a field-recording style lo-fi sound on their new self-titled album released late last year. Their influences are of the darker side of folk music; the gritty murder ballads found deep within obscure mountains and dense forests excluded from all light, produced by even more suspicious figures of ill repute. To add an atmosphere of authenticity to the rustic proceedings, the album was recorded “all over the mountains of Colorado in a camper, using a generator.”

There is no percussion on this album, only the ominous slapping of an upright bass to keep time. Songs like “Bad Times” and the more conspicuously-titled “Hangin’ In A Tree” sing of death and the ever looming threat of the gallows. Elsewhere, songs like “Blasphemous Bill” ring of the evil rockabilly reminiscent of Johnny Cash cum Nick Cave. Whereas other artists feel at least some form of regret for their actions, the narrators of these songs are laughing straight to the grave. Saddle of Southern Darkness is a surprisingly authentic folk recording that seems to have come out of nowhere, and it is certainly one not to be missed before it retreats back into the shadowy woods.