Spirit Family Reunion – When My Name Is Spoken
Upon the near incessant applaud from my friend Steve I plugged in the Spirit Family Reunion’s self-titled EP. The Brooklyn band, who certainly doesn’t sound like a Brooklyn band, reeks of bucolic, countryside bluegrass music. Fiddles are played, banjos are plucked, and washboards are rattled as SFR plays their brand of some of the most enthralling, old-timey americana / bluegrass you’ll hear. It stands to reason how these guys ended up in Brooklyn. These songs are dusty, ramshackles that seem to blend a bit of the old and the new, and singer Nick Panken’s weeping, whiskey soaked vocals seem to fit in just right as the band harmonizes as well as any band you can hear.
The name it seems, is as perfect as their sound, in its evocation and revival of music’s past, they are truly a spirited bunch that I for one have not been able to shut off. Its a great sound, and one that I’m entirely thirsty to hear more than just 5 songs. I’m sharing “When My Name is Spoken,” which seems to me to be their benchmark song. Its a fast, enthusiastic song that I’ve been chair dancing (if only I had a dance floor) to all day long.
As it stands, the band is doing a residency in nyc at the living room every wednesday this montha as well as a few trips upstate including jan 28 opening for Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble.
CDs and Songbooks are $9 each by mail. Write to spiritfamilyreunionusa@gmail.com, including your order, mailing address and payment method (paypal, check or cash).
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