Authentic Bluegrass

Remember the twangy back-country ’40s gospel rock of The Louvin Brothers? No? Then Drakkar Sauna’s cover album Wars and Tornadoes will be unsullied for you. The only indication that these tracks aren’t the Lawrence, Kansas duo’s original work is the sudden departure from their experimental half-folk of previous albums. Rather than college-students posing as “freak folk” tricksters, Wars and Tornadoes is a sincere effort of Christian hymns and bluegrass melodies. Something obviously doesn’t sit right.

Going into Jeff Stolz and Wallace Cochran’s fourth album blind, one would think these are the duo’s own creations. So sincere is the delivery, so dedicated are the adaptations. Not many differences separate the originals from these retakes, either. Where The Louvin Brothers are shined in golden age studio polish, Drakkar is nasally twangy. The biting vocals of ‘Don’t Laugh’ and ‘The Family Who Prays’ sound more like a front-porch performance rather than a professional recording. This homely intimate aspect is well-welcomed with such personal songs as the tragic Romeo and Juliet story of ‘Katie Dies’ or heart-warming ‘Tiny Broken Hearts’.

With the simple gospel tracks of ‘The Family Who Prays’ and ‘The Weapon of Prayer’, it would seem easy for Stolz and Cochran to add their own 21st century baggage. Yet no biting criticism is found, leaving only a pleasurable slice of early 20th century religion. Though Drakkar Sauna’s delivery is stereotypically southern and their whiney vocals wear on the ears, one must respect their hands-off re-performance of some vintage classics.

Drakkar Sauna, with their experimental backgrounds, surprisingly throws themselves whole-heartedly into their long-departed inspiration without any modern punch-lines or irony. With previous albums Drakkanasasauna and Rover described as “weird” and “weirder,” perhaps this cover album isn’t so strange–after all, strange is the name of the game when it comes to Stolz and Cochran. While I think there are few Louvin Brothers fans out there to enjoy these covers, any fan of nearly-authentic golden era bluegrass and southern folk gospel should find a new favorite with Drakkar Sauna.

Michael Schmitt