I could hardly ignore this one, could I? Buster Sledge, what’s that? A mash up between Sister Sledge and Buster Bloodvessel of Bad Manners? Part of the Press Release even goes into detail with a technical description of blushing, when bloodvessels in the face and neck dilate.
But nope, it’s an American now domiciled in Norway (but apparently not connected to oil) who is backed by three Norwegians of diverse musical backgrounds, all with a shared love for traditional American music. Or more correctly melancholicana, their name for this subgenre.
‘Warm and stupid’ is the second single from an album due out later in the year. They describe it as ‘sadgrass’ (not heard that one before but I can instantly think of some artists that fulfill that role), a slow number to be enjoyed in solitude, preferably alone on the dance floor, where you can find five minutes to reflect on recent bad decisions.
Indeed the song concerns how those decisions are often made under the toxic influence of lurve.
It is offered up in a strange meter that dislocates it and confuses the listener and the effect of the range of acoustic instrumentation employed (banjo, fiddle, guitar and contrabass) is to confuse them even more. You can easily imagine yourself driving through a remote part of the Appalachians and hearing this being performed on a verandah by a family group as the sun sets.
And that could be now; or back in Jed Clampett and his family’s era before he struck oil and loaded up the truck and moved to Beverley…
Or during the Walton family’s era during the Depression. Or the Wild West. It’s timeless.
Which reminds me. ‘Warm and stupid’ is released on 2nd June, on the Heilo label.
Buster Sledge is:
Michael Barrett Donovan: lead vocals, fiddle
Mikael Jonassen: banjo, vocals
Jakob Folke Ossum: guitar, vocals
Vidar Starheimsæter: bass, vocals
Find them on:
Website: https://www.bustersledge.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BusterSledge
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bustersledge/
