Portland's The Builders and the Butchers fail to disappoint once again with their newest release,
Dead Reckoning. Staying true to their previous recipe, Ryan Solee's voice is rugged and guides the Spanish-influenced, fast-moving strings and the Southern Gothic percussion and brass.
Dead Reckoning, which drops on February 22,
begins with the soft, build-up "I Broke the Vein," leading into a plethora of folk tales and bluegrass melodies like the heavily country "Rotten to the Core" and "Out of the Mountain," which is sprinkled with blues instrumentals.
Distant, echoing chants introduce "Blood For You." The short interlude is lead by heavy, pounding percussion similar to banging pots and pans. With an unproduced, raw sound The Builders and the Butchers really bring out the folk roots essence they are so good at.
Despite the album title, Builders and the Butchers surprisingly talk less about death than their previous album,
Salvation is a Deep Dark Well. With more solemn tunes, the eeriness that the band is known for is more subtle but nonetheless prevalent.