Low Estate

Low Estate

Sixteen Horsepower's singer David Eugene Edwards brings such a mix of vitriol and faith to his music that were he born in a different place and time, I imagine he could have been a snake preacher. His songs explore that delicate and often explosive relationship between religion and real life, often with dire consequences: "I beseech the Lord clear my head / before once again I scar the soul of that girl in my bed," he sings on "Brimstone Rock" moments before letting loose a screech channeled from the devil by way of Nick Cave. The music is blistering, a take on hill-music that the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion could've created had they been raised on moonshine and pig snouts. <I>--Tod Nelson</I>