Drakkar Sauna

It is now finally time for our first ever Album /Single of The Month post and I am the lucky lady that gets to pick the first ones. I am not worthy, but I’ll do it anyway. So for August I give you Drakkar Sauna and The Fratellis. Woo!

Drakkar Sauna are Wallace Cochran and Jeff Stolz. They are so far removed from normal, I don’t even know where to begin to tell you how strange they are. I can’t really compare them to anything either. They play old timey bluegrass with a big fat twist. I mean Hank Williams would love them but then he’d listen to the lyrics and say what on earth are these boys going on about?!? (That’s how I imagine Hank Williams talking, if I’m wrong I’m very sorry all you nitpicky Hank aficionados.) They sing about, well weird stuff. Their songs have titles like “There’s Not Enough Tits On A Wolf” and my personal favorite title of the year “Mongrel Of A Half Man Slave Bitch”. They play like they’re the official band of the Dia De Los Muertos (the Mexican holiday that celebrates the dead) and often sing in Spanish to prove my point. They play some instruments I’ve never heard of like a harmophone and a tamboosh. I don’t even know how to spell tamboosh, but I like the sound of it. In fact I might start calling myself The Mighty Tamboosh from now on. Heh heh. Yeah, maybe not.

I LOVE old timey Bluegrass and weird and creepy, overly creative people, so this band is exactly what I’ve been looking for, even though I didn’t know it. They’re third release Jabraham Lincoln came out August 25th and is definitely worth the ten dollars Marriage Records charges for it. You can listen to a very surreal interview with them about their new album over on Lawrence. And here’s a taste from their new album and an older favorite of mine, respectively:

   Drakkar Sauna - Teach Me Your Legs
   Drakkar Sauna - #4 Very Much alone part 4, Oh Fuck. I’m Fucked. Fuck.

Holy shiz, Marc Bolan lives! The Fratellis lead singer doesn’t just sound like him, he also looks a bit like him. Have a look at their kind of sleazy video for their new single “Chelsea Dagger”. My favorite Fratellis song is still the acoustic version of “Creeping Up The Backstairs”, their latest is just a bit too much of everything to kick it off the top spot. It’s glam, in your face and the song’s influences are obvious, but it’s a big loud bawdy party and I like it. It may not be the best or most original single that came out this month but I’m sure it’s the most fun, though the latest Good Shoes single “All In My Head” is a solid contender. See how I slipped that one in there? I’m all about the loopholes.