Have you ever heard of “Folk Punk”?
Well it’s a genre, and an enjoyable genre in my opinion. But there was a time where my answer was, “No, is that a thing?”. My introduction into the folk punk were bands like Amigo the Devil and The Goddamn Gallows. It’s like if someone took the raw and unapologetic essence of punk rock and combined it with the macabre by telling stories through folk tales involving witches, demons and of course, The Devil.
The sound is a contrast to the electric bass and guitars, the music is filled with acoustic sounds, equipment like banjos, mandolins and ukuleles and in most cases there’s even a lack of a drummer. The more intimate the equipment, the more haunting the music sounds.
If any of this sounds interesting to you at all, then I have a band for you to check out. They’ve been my obsession for the last year and I fell like they’re worth spending my time worshiping. I’m talking about The Bridge City Sinners. Led by the charismatic banjolele playing lead singer Libby Lux (IG: @libby666luxury) with banjo player Hunter Rukstad, fiddle player Lightin’ Luke (IG: @thelightninluke), resonator guitarist Michael Sinner, mandolin player Steve Kilcrease, upright bass player Scott Michaud and acoustic guitarist Jess Payne. This Portland, Oregon band has captured my purple little heart.
I have their most recent album, Here’s to the Devil… (Released on Flail Records) which gives us the message on the inside:
“Here’s to the Devil, may he find all our foes and cut off their toes so that we may recognize them by the way they walk.”
The album is amazing. It’s one of those albums where you don’t skip a song. Libby has an amazing voice that can be so beautiful yet take you to the depths of hell. I would describe them as a jamboree of death. The first song “Kreacher” about a mythical monster gets us ready for tales of macabre and evil, and you have good tunes like “Virgin Sacrifice“. One of my favorite songs on the album is “Through and Through” with lyrics like, “Don’t say no prayers for me/ cause I’m exactly where I want to be/ Yeah I’m a sinner through and through/ and I’ll be waiting here in hell for you”:
My other favorite song on the album, one I play every morning before I start the day is the album’s final song, “Satan’s Song”. With lyrics like, “The devil lives in me/ and the devil lives in you/ and he’ll take you’re life as soon is through/ and you can kick, you can scream, you can fight all night but, oh but Satan’s grip is much too tight,” you can’t wait to start your day and be a good sinner:
I hope I was able to share enough good tunes with you for today. I would definitely recommend getting a copy of Here Comes the Devil… if you’re up for a punk, folky, blasphemous good time. They’ve definitely made a fan out of me and I would love to see them live one day.
You can find The Bridge City Sinners and find out if they’re touring on:
https://www.bridgecitysinners.com/
Instagram: @bridgecitysinners
Stay spooky!
Manda Micro’s Nerd Zone 