Review: Red Clay River – 4 Song EP

Red Clay River is a band from Roanoke, Virgina in the shadows of the Blue Ridge Mountains and their 4 song EP from 2008 is full of the sort of lonesome and dusty alt-country that I totally love. It is seriously great where mournful fiddles, resonators, banjos, and male/female vocal harmonies bring out the desperation of Appalachian folk music and the soulful sadness of blues and bluegrass. I don’t know how they do it. Maybe they harness the ghostly haunting spirits of their ancestors though the whiskey they’ve consumed but Red Clay River’s gothic pastiche is pretty amazing. In short, these are the sort of songs that effectively bridge the gap between Dock Boggs and Tim Barry. The EP even features a cover of John Prine’s “Paradise.”

MP3 | Red Clay River – Carolina Red Clay River EP