Album Notes

From Willamette Week:

\"[OTHERWORLDLY FOLK] Loch Lomond and the Builders and the Butchers might seem an odd couple. The former plays idyllic, expansive chamber folk, the latter stripped-down punk-blues. But these seemingly disparate groups share two commonalities: Both have dark sides, and both could be from alternate universes. The Builders and the Butchers play rock ‘n’ roll as invented during the Great Depression; and while it’s hard to pin down where Loch Lomond’s world diverged from ours, its music seems like it’s based on a history the rest of us didn’t experience. And the bands’ untitled split LP is a great demonstration of their shared otherworldliness.

Loch Lomond’s Side A features two unreleased songs and two (remastered) tracks off the group’s recent full-length, Paper the Walls. The recurring tracks, “Field Report” and “Scabs on This Year” are good choices for reproducing on vinyl. But new tracks “Elephants and Little Girls” and “The Trumpet Song” not only outshine the reproductions—they’re worth the price of the album ($10) alone. “The Trumpet Song” is an especially gorgeous end-piece; effeminate singer Ritchie Young and his chorus sound so vast repeating “I am the world’s loudest instrument” that you almost believe them.\"

BY BRANDON SEIFERT