Old Man Markley: Guts 'N' Teeth (2011)

Old Man Markley is a fairly unique band. They play a style of music that's basically a mixture of punk and bluegrass. The only other band I know of playing a style of music close to this is Trampled By Turtles from Duluth, MN (side note: I avoided TBT for years thinking they were some crappy jam band only to be blown away when I first actually heard them but that's better saved for a different post). I'm sure there are other fine bands rocking out with fiddles, banjo's, autoharps and washboards (that right, washboards!) around the country but I'm not aware of them.

If you're having a hard time envisioning what bluegrass-punk sounds like, at least in the case of Old Man Markley, it sounds a lot like if Flogging Molly focused on traditional American bluegrass instead of Irish folk. There's a healthy mix of fast punk influenced songs ("For Better, For Worse," "Killing Time," In a Circle Going Round") and slower songs that lean toward the bluegrass side ("Guts 'N' Teeth," "Lowdown Blues"). Guitarist/singer John Carey has a nasally everyman voice that's easy to sing along to. That's important because every song is obviously meant to be heard with a few drinks and a group of friends singing in unison. Gang backup vocals and male/female harmonies are all over the album and the music is a party waiting to happen (which is what I expect an Old Man Markley concert likely is).

Guts 'N' Teeth is a really fun album that I've been listening to pretty heavily for the last week. The songs will get stuck in your head for days in a good way. While I'm pretty sure they just tweaked the Flogging Molly formula a little bit, there's nothing wrong with another party band that's fueled by moonshine instead of whiskey.

Rating: 4/5

Track Listing:

1. "For Better, For Worse" (2:56)
2. "At the Bottom" (2:50)
3. "Running Weight" (2:36)
4. "Guts 'N' Teeth" (2:56)
5. "Do Me Like You Do" (2:19)
6. "Killing Time" (2:41)
7. "Song Songs" (2:17)
8. "In a Circle Going Round" (2:23)
9. "Letterman" (3:05)
10. "Lowdown Blues" (4:18)
11. "Living and Learning" (2:51)
12. "Struggling" (3:13)