Tell Me How You Feel

This, the second album by Hoth Brothers Band, is one among a gazillion projects that would have taken a different form in the absence of the coronavirus pandemic. Across 17 songs, Bard Edrington, Sarah Ferrell and Boris McCutcheon employ stripped-down arrangements featuring guitar, banjo, mandolin, upright bass and occasional drum kit. Focused on diverse topics ranging from the undermining of democracy to New Mexico’s native flora, the music offers insight, respite and about as much hope and optimism as current conditions allow. The sparse instrumental line-up supports sharply accentuated vocals, which situate the proceedings in a gritty, splendidly chromatic, south-western soundscape. The a cappella showcase, ‘One Hard Rain’, a cautionary tale of hubris in the age of COVID-19, resounds with Biblical intensity and the idiosyncratic harmony of shape note singing. ‘Pappy’s Last Ride’ lopes along in a mournful but animated bluegrass cadence, perfectly conjuring the ballad’s subject, a dearly departed pet dog. ‘Dyin’ for Diane’ delightfully depicts the peril of falling for a jackhammering damsel. Throughout, Tell Me How You Feel feels like an authentic, contemporary expression of the American West.