Music

Shovels & Rope: A Mondern-Day Carter & Cash?

Published

12 years ago

January 10, 2013

Photo From MusicSavage.com

Local duo Shovels & Rope have received plenty of accolades over the last year for their lively concerts and awesome debut album (2012’s O’ Be Joyful), but the most recent praise may be the most unique.

New York Times contributor Val Haller has compared Cary Anne Hearst and Michael Trent to the venerable June Carter and Johnny Cash. Each week Haller, a self-proclaimed music-obsessed baby-boomer, compares “artists from her generation with those of her 20-something sons’ generation.”

After my initial doubt over this comparison, I realized it actually makes some sense.

Both bands are husband-and-wife duos that perform music which falls somewhere within the Country genre. Each has strong ties to the South and their concerts don’t feature a lot of theatrics – which is not a knock. Their music easily stands on its own – no big screens or fireworks needed.

Shovels & Rope isn’t as folksy as Carter & Cash were and at times they are actually much closer to Cash’s darker, solo catalog. For instance,”Shank Hill Street” leans more towards the Man in Black’s “Folsom Prison Blues” than anything he released with his wife.

Overall, Shovels & Rope have more of “punk-country” feel, but the comparison Haller made does have its merits.

You can read Haller’s entire piece HERE. A live video of Shovels & Rope playing “Keeper” is also included in the article.

And don’t forget to catch Shovels & Rope live at the Charleston Music Hall on March 2nd. Tickets are on sale HERE.

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