Barons in the Attic
Greatest Hits, Vol. 2

Release date: 24 January, 2009

Label: B3nson Records

Format: CD LP (B3013)

RIYL: Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan, Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band.

Barons in the Attic stick to the uninhibited B3nson jangle on their self- produced debut: a record that captures the infectious living-room-guitar-party energy of their live shows. In no place is this better displayed than on “Talkin’ About Walkin’ Around,” an exuberant testament to and antidote for those “Albany blues” we all feel from time to time. The tracks can sound a bit haggard—evidence of the home recording—but, then, both the effect and its cause are kinda the point, and in no way limit the band’s sonic palette. “Charlie Jean” features a great dirging bridge of bells and accordion, and the woozy “Tango Song” takes its shape from both clanging and fuzzy guitars, trombone, xylophone, and vocalist Matt Hamilton’s searing harmonica. In the end, it’s the songwriting that stands out, as tempos leap and fall without forewarning, and tunes resolve in beer-swinging sing-along codas. It’s hard not to join in at the end of “Cemetery of Ex-Girlfriends” with the refrain “We’ll sing songs, love songs.” Just as it can be difficult to determine where in the B3nson collective one band ends and another begins, it’s hard as a listener not to feel like you also have a place in the mix. But then this, too, is kinda the point.
—Josh Potter

Track Listing:
01. Farmer’s Daughter
02. Talkin’ About Walkin Around
03. Cemetery of Ex-Girlfriends
04. Charlie Jean
05. Quarter Step Death March
06. Magnetics
07. Tango Song
08. Girl on a Wire
09. The Man From Susquehanna
10. Autophobia
11. Like A Ticking Clock