Strapping Fieldhands Discography of CDs

The big bluesy racket of "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" is the highlight of the Fieldhands' debut, recorded on only three tracks. ~ John Bush Strapping Fieldhands include: Bob Malloy (vocals).

Strapping Fieldhands CD discography Indie bands mixing rock with folk came and went during the six years between Strapping Fieldhands full-lengths, making 2002 as good a time for a comeback as any. It's clear the band didn't spend much of the interim practicing; The Third Kingdom is as chaotic and dense a piece of lo-fi sludge rock as anything they'd recorded before. It's a loose, shambling epic, occasionally recalling the Pogues or Ween's prog-folk opus The Mollusk. Surprisingly, there's nothing as mystical as the Fieldhands' In the Pineys EP, just an opening sea shanty ("Heave Ho"). "Slingshot Sounds," "Bullseye," and "Copper Ring" are the only songs approaching up-tempo pop; many of the others have a willful obstinacy to them, with distorted, untuned guitars and an unhinged organ framing duets between guttural vocals and a higher tenor (reminiscent of the glory days of the David Baker-led Mercury Rev). It's not likely Strapping Fieldhands will convince any Wilco fans with The Third Kingdom, but for fans who've been waiting for another album, there's much fun to be had here. ~ John Bush Partially recorded Cycle Sound, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Personnel: Bob Malloy (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Jacy Webster (vocals, guitar); Jeff Werner (vocals, drums, bells); Robert Bell (bouzouki, violin); Bob Dickie (cello). Liner Note Author: Matt Valentine. Recording information: Cycle Sound; DiPinto's Basement; Malloy's Pad. Strapping Fieldhands: Bob Malloy (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Jacy Webster (vocals, guitar); Jeff Werner (vocals, drums, bells); Robert Bell (bouzouki, violin); Bob Dickie (cello, bass).

Strapping Fieldhands albums Imagine that Syd Barrett and the Bonzo Dog Band had been born in Stinking Creek, KY, and joined forces to create bizarre, darkly humorous backwoods psychedelia in a variety of styles. Or that the Holy Modal Rounders decided to go electric and sing with fake British accents. Or that there was a time in the early '90s when groups as dissimilar as Guided By Voices, Tall Dwarfs, and Freakwater could be somehow lumped together. The latter is, of course, the real-life environment into which the Strapping Fieldhands sprang with a series of cracked singles on the Siltbreeze ...

Strapping Fieldhands music CDs Strapping Fieldhands pursue the same lo-fi indie rock as Guided By Voices, but with fewer pure rock songs. True, song titles such as "Scuttled Kayak Odyssey," "Ben Franklin Airbath," and "Tickled With Olive Branch" could be taken from any GBV album, but the Fieldhands are also influenced by sea shanties and drinking songs. "Abandoned By Demeter" continues the band's interest in mythology (check out "Ulysses" on the In the Pineys EP). ~ John Bush Audio Mixers: John Baker; Ron A. Schaffer. Recording information: Sigma Sound.

Strapping Fieldhands discography Track Listing of songs: Boo Hoo Hoo; Sad Lament of the American Indian; When You Came; Coffin Cello; Battle Down the 1/4 Mile; Now We Have Slipped; Lonnie Donnegan's Mum's Tea Chest; Misty; Mysterious Girl; Luminous Babies; Sasquatch & Wilcox Club the Weefolk; Red Dog the Deconstructor; Biscuits & Kippers; Arrogant Flower; Past Pastoral; Abstract Composition #2; Gored by Bull;