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16 Horsepower EP ( 1995 )


8

Haw / South Pennsylvania Waltz / Shametown / Straight-Mouth Stomp / Coal Black Horses / I Gotta Gal


16 Horsepower's doom-laden take on roots music earned them a spot in both alt country and alternative rock, and turned them into one of the most original bands to emerge in the mid-90's. Singer David Eugene Edwards, a preacher's grandson, howls his tales of sin, redemption, and belief in the most intense fashion since the heyday of The Gun Club's Jeffrey Lee Pierce. The similarities aren't limited to the sound of their vocals and the delivery, as both singers were also obsessed with the rise and fall of humankind, the seductive power of all things evil, and the wages of sin. Whereas Pierce saw himself as a sinner par excellence, however, Edwards performs the role of the God-fearing preacher, who watches in disgust how mankind constantly borders on the verge of self-destruction, on the one hand, and the role of the Christian whose faith in God is as steady as a rock, on the other hand. Like his sinful predecessor, Edwards plays (slide) guitar, but also less predictable instruments such as banjo and bandoneon (a kind of accordion/squeezebox). The other two members that complete the line-up during the recording of this 6-song EP are Keven Soll (bass) and Jean-Yves Tola (drums).

 

 

 

It's not that easy to describe 16 Horsepower's music, as their sound, despite being indebted to several genres such as country, folk, bluegrass and rock, defies clear categorization. Often termed "American Gothic," the band situates itself somewhere in the wasteland between Nick Cave's feverish rock, the classic country of Hank Williams and early 20th century blues and folk (about everything from Delta-blues to Woody Guthrie). Ultimately, the fierce atmosphere and often abrasive bursts of energy that haunt most of their songs seems to place them more in the field of alternative rock, where they're accompanied by perfomers like Johnny Dowd, Jim White, and Nick Cave. Tracks like "Haw" and "Coal Black Horses" are unsettling and dark songs, prime examples of Edwards' intense evangelism, with Biblical imagery ("I dug a hole and hollowed it out, yes and I fell, oh Lord I'm caught in the cord, the cord of my own sin," in "Coal Black Horses") and an impressive musicianship. The brooding atmosphere created by the wailing slide guitar that opens "South Pennsylvania Waltz" goes on for five terrific minutes, and the combination of the sense of desolation that is evoked and the gloomy lyrics ("I ain't afraid of you laughin', nor afraid of your fist, come on with it brother, your sweet betrayal kiss") makes it another winner in this short goth-EP, that has a lot in common with the fictional world of Flannery O'Connor. "Shametown" rushes ahead at a faster pace and features some great banjo playing which gives the song an extra dimension of authenticity, even though the mid-section sounds like the band's take on boogie-rock. The remaining tracks, "Straight-Mouth Stomp" and "I Gotta Gal" are shorter (both around two minutes) and more traditional. The first is a bandoneon-led waltz, while the second is closer to bluegrass, with suitable "yee-haws" and lyrics (in the background) that seem optimistic, but also contain the unavoidable warning ("I gotta gal, and she's so fine, all the boys stand in line, keep your hands to yourself boy tonight"). Certainly an acquired taste, 16 Horsepower's rewarding debut EP immediately established them as one of the most remarkable outfits in 90's rock, led by the quirky but convincing charisma of David Eugene Edwards, a man as dedicated as they come.
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