The Beauty Shop: John Hoeffleur (vocals, guitar); Ariane Peralta (bass); Casey Smith (percussion).
Recorded at Vertigoat Studios, Urbana, Illinois.
Folks who like their Americana on the mildly twisted side-think early Palace or the Handsome Family-will treat this Illinois band's debut like a reprinting of the '70s cult freak show book Wisconsin Death Trip. Songwriting guitarist John Hoeffleur's mournfully deadpan growl delivers lines like "When I leave, I'll leave you sore/And then you'll know how sorry feels" with enough understated menace to keep them from sounding like a tough-guy affectation. The accompanying banjos, mandolins, and acoustic guitars, supported by Ariane Peralta's simple basslines and Casey Smith's minimalist percussion, are suitably low-key without being skeletal. These 13 songs are pretty relentlessly bleak, especially lyrically, but there's a fragile, almost desolate beauty to this album that keeps it from sounding like a Jim Thompson novel set to music. ~ Stewart Mason
Professional Reviews
CMJ (1/22/01, p.17) - "...Campfire songs designed for the hour when embers burn out - wayfaring sad-sack prairie ballads sung to no one, as haunting as they are inspired..."
