Bucket City Bawdy House is kind of like the musical version of getting randomly partnered up for group projects in grade school. Recorded in a Rockvale, Tenn., studio, Bucket City Bawdy House, Volume 1, is a compilation of nine songs written by nine “faux” bands that amount to 35 musicians based in Middle and East Tennessee. All recruited for their musical prowess, many of the Bucket City members come from prominent bands in the Murfreesboro scene at present, including members of The GoldRoom, Boo Boo Bunny, A Secret Policeman’s Ball, Single Mothers, The Hellbillies, Seafood Hotline and The Hardin Draw.
Each group, which consists of three to five artists, was given eight hours to write and bang out one track, which made for a surprisingly cohesive, given the diversity of the musicians, record of rock—Southern, hard and experimental, sometimes separately and sometimes simultaneously.
The record opens with the creeping, overcast prog rock gem “Safety Off—The Director’s Cut,” sung and written by Jason Moore (The Katies), whose piercing vocals brought to mind Matt Tubandt’s of Thief. Jeff Keeran plays to his songwriting strengths on the more classic rock-sounding “$ – Tail Lights,” with Heavy Cream’s Tiffany Morton on drums, and Paige Crockett’s pouty Gwen Stefani vocals pour over gnashing Sunny Day Real Estate guitars on “Little Boy Butter—Driving All Day (To The Two Chord Rag).” the Pinback-esque keys and bass of “The Look Sees—Limp Handshake” pour over Zeppelin-like vocal yowling and angry riffs.
Naturally, the influences of the assorted artists in each group are sometimes completely opposite, like the Pinback-esque keys and bass paired with Zeppelin-like vocal yowling and angry riffs. Or the twangy, Drive-By Truckers sort of riff on “Number Nine, Number Nine—Money Back” coupled with an out-of-the-blue accordion part contributed by Nikki Oliff (The Hardin Draw).
Considering the mixed lineup and the time constraints, BCBH, Volume I, is the definition of experimental, an example of how well random musicians work together, how heavily they influence each other and the songs and how they write under the pressure of a deadline. It’s the sound of collaboration, one of the most intriguing nonmusical elements of music.
