"Damn sure worth the pain" - Rumbleseat

Loyal readers will know that my favorite record label in these modern times is Gainesville's wonderful No Idea. Hell, probably a good third of the records I've liked this year have been put by those dudes. They specialize in the folk-tinged, whiskey-throated, soulful punk that has come to mean so much to me over the last few years.

Their two big finds over the years have been Against Me! (who left for Fat Wreck and eventually Sire) and Hot Water Music (who eventually left for indie giant Epitaph). However, HWM and the contingent of musicans from their various side-projects and former bands (like Blacktop Cadance) are constantly putting out stuff on No Idea and constantly making short-lived groups for the purposes of making a 7" or a one-off full length. One such group is Rumbleseat, an acoustic folk trio with punk overtones.

The latter was inevitable, as it features HWM's leaders Chuck Ragan and Chris Wollard at the helm (as well as Gainesville regular Samantha Jones on acoustic bass and backup vocals). However, while their two-packs-a-day harmonizing will sound familiar to fans, this is anything but Hot Water Music done acoustically. It's darker and more winding. Honestly, it has more than a bit of Southern Gothic tinge to it. It sounds like a bend in a dirt road feels, if that makes any sense to anyone who's never been south of the Mason-Dixon Line. It's porch music for those nights where the crickets join in, even the rocking chair creaks, and that last sip of whiskey warms you like a lover.

They released just a few seven inches (often in print runs of less than 1500) and compilation contributions before calling it quits. Not too long afterwards, Ragan left Hot Water Music to pursue his own solo work. I have to wonder if the two are related. Anyway, No Idea put together a Rumbleseat discography package called Rumbleseat is Dead, which collects all their stuff in one place. It's way too short, but it's well worth the cost. It's really been growing on me the last year. For fans of xmitchxclemxcorex.

http://www.mysharefile.com/v/6674649/Rumbleseat_Trestles.mp3.html

http://www.mysharefile.com/v/2856394/Rumbleseat_Restless.mp3.html

http://www.mysharefile.com/v/5131817/Rumbleseat_Picker.mp3.html