Easy Listening for Jerks, Pt. 1 The Dead South

• 1 Keep on the Sunny Side 02:41
• 2 Pallet On The Floor 02:39
• 3 Will the Circle Be Unbroken 03:55
• 4 Flint Hill Special 02:23
• 5 You Are My Sunshine 03:20
• 6 Matterhorn 02:54
• Total Runtime 17:52

Info for Easy Listening for Jerks, Pt. 1

The Dead South probe new environs: Carter Family meets Addams Family in Easy Listening for Jerks, two new covers EPs by gold-certified prairie pickers The Dead South. The source material for the EP two-pack sees The Dead South trace very different musical lineages: one a beloved folk songbook and the other a set of volatile modern outsider anthems. Always playing against type, The Dead South flip traditional bluegrass and hard rock conventions upside down, drawing out an ominous, lurking unease in the bright innocence of Bristol Sessions-era sound, and pulling moments of absurdity and hilarity out from the hardcore bluster. Part I includes the Sun belt-meets-black belt take on "You Are My Sunshine," in which The Dead South dig below the surface layer lullaby to levels of deep desperation, a mood well suited to the prospector's baritone of Nate Hilts. In a minor key, "Keep On The Sunny Side," changes from sweet to sinister. "Matterhorn," a gallant adventure tale that sees four friends set off to climb a mountain, also works on the level of The Dead South's origin story. "It's closer here to heaven than it is back to the ground," goes the song, now also a fitting encapsulation of the band's feelings of anxiety and exhilaration about returning to life on the road.

"To be sure, the majority of the 13 tracks spread across these two EPs are mostly upbeat, although for the most part, they’re also the most obscure. The oddest of them all, ‘Chop Suey’, is flush with rapid-fire revelry and a jumble of delirious double talk. The traditional tune ‘Pallet on the Floor’ is joyful and jaunty, while ‘Matterhorn’, ‘We Used to Be on Vacation’, ‘Flint Hill Special’ and the unfortunately-titled ‘Help Me Scrape the Mucus Off My Brain’ share a celebratory stance through an assured bluegrass embrace. Those who are unfamiliar with The Dead South’s MO may find themselves bewildered by the disparate strains of these dual collections, and, in fact, might even feel like jerks themselves for any inability to find consistency or cohesion. Is it easy listening? Not really. However, it is entertaining, proof once again that The Dead South have no defined boundaries." (Lee Zimmerman, holler.country)

The Dead South

The Dead South
a gold rush vibing four-piece acoustic set from Saskatchewan, infuse the genre's traditional trappings with an air of frontier recklessness, whiskey breakfasts and grizzled tin-pan showmanship. Their sound, build on a taut configuration of cello, mandolin, banjo and guitar, speeds like a train past polite definitions of acoustic music into the grittier, rowdier spaces of the bluegrass world.

Currently one of the hottest tickets on both sides of the Atlantic, The Dead South have doubled their draw with each subsequent tour since 2018. 2019 will see the band make their debut at iconic venues and festivals in the USA and UK, Red Rocks and Glastonbury. The story behind their incredibly robust worldwide fanbase is both a modern music biz fairytale, a 130 million view video for a song released in 2014, and a timeless tale of a band that built their audience show by show, delivering a relentlessly great, high-energy frenzy that resulted in nearly 50,000 tickets sold in 2018. Through partnerships with ethical ticket resellers, The Dead South are helping fans fight back against shady secondary ticket markets, and have become, in their success, a model of fan-first artist citizenship.

The Dead South's original and current lineup includes the gnarled baritone of Nate Hilts, Scott Pringle on mandolin, whistling cellist Danny Kenyon and virtuosic banjo player Colton Crawford. The four-piece, string-driven approach puts the interplay of unique and versatile voices front and centre, with Hilts, Pringle and Kenyon all sharing lead vocal duties.

Since their last release, 2016’s JUNO Award winning Illusion & Doubt, The Dead South have maintained a formidable touring pace while also finding time to pop up in fitting and meaningful ways, from a contribution to the star-studded bluegrass and Americana Roger Miller tribute album to sweet duets with fellow prairie boy Colter Wall.

This album contains no booklet.