Search - Boggs :: We Are the Boggs We Are

The Boggs take traditional American music and inject it with the raucous spirit of the Pogues. The result is a debut pitched somewhere between the coolness of fellow New Yorkers the Strokes and the exuberance of the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? Banjos, slide guitars, and simple drum kits tear along at breakneck speed on "Whiskey and Rye," while the slow and sinister "On North Wood Ground" recalls 16 Horsepower. Production tricks are kept to a minimum. The ramshackle vocals recall campfire sing-alongs, adding a feeling of period authenticity that can be, at times, frustrating--this was, after all, recorded in 2001. And that attitude is a bit of a problem. At what point does heartfelt homage slip into mocking irony? That's not to say that the Boggs don't show a great deal of potential, but the lesser-known Tarbox Ramblers have done this sort of thing before, and better. --Robert Burrow