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Philadelphia-based Hoots & Hellmouth (MAD Dragon Records) creates new music for old souls. Their second full-length effort, “The Holy Open Secret” (street date: June 2, 2009), continues to blaze a trail forward in the name of progressive revival. Rob Berliner, Andrew Gray and Sean Hoots return as the core trio of string slingers and harmonious vocalizers, co-producing in collaboration with Bill Moriarity (Dr. Dog, Man Man) at Philadelphia’s American Diamond studio. The results speak for themselves in tones ranging from the triumphant to the dulcet.
Blending the twisted roots of American music in a fierce and fiery alchemy, this ragtag bunch seeks a revival of spirit. Soulful three-part harmonies comingle with acoustic guitars, a mandolin, an upright bass and foot stomps building a synergy that bursts from both stage and speaker with aural aplomb. “It's about bleeding, sweating, crying, rejoicing," the band’s Sean Hoots says of their work. “It’s alive!”
The indescribable obviousness hinted at in the title is manifest throughout the long player. At once fresh and vibrant, yet somehow strangely familiar, the tunes cover a lot of ground both stylistically and lyrically while maintaining a central focus on song-craft. The opening salvo, “Root Of The Industry,” rips from the speakers with a sweaty, country gospel-soaked exhortation to all listeners to “gather up your axes and hack your way to the root of the industry.” Fast on its heels, “You And All Of Us” brings the party as it celebrates true community spirit in an almost N’awlins-style “second line” feel. “What Good Are Plowshares If We Use Them Like Swords?” keeps up the spritely pace while taking things a bit deeper lyrically, calling into question the motives of those who would use such widely espoused virtues as love, faith and freedom to further their own self-serving ends.
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