Bolsa de Agua [Enhanced]

Amazon.com's Best of 2000
On Bolsa de Agua, more a backyard hootenanny than a meticulous studio creation, the Gourds threw a party where everyone got drunk and wrestled around in the dirt. Propelled by comfortably drawling, catchy alt-country and the band's loopy lyrics and smart-ass sensibility, Bolsa de Agua brings a crooked smile at every turn. --S. Duda

Amazon.com
Texas's multifaceted Gourds have not been well served by record companies, a fact that has made their hard-to-pigeonhole music often just plain hard to find. To christen their signing to the stable, stellar Sugar Hill label, they're spinning a new, twangier set, Bolsa de Agua (as well as reissuing their prior albums). Bolsa has all the Gourds' characteristic elements--guitarist Kevin Russell's barrel-chested vocals and cleanly strummed acoustic guitars; Jimmy Smith's tipsy vocals and thick, sometimes slappy bass; Keith Langford's thwacking drum punctuations; Claude Bernard's accordion (and more); and a host of here rootsily narrative, there freaked, lyrics. To wit: Smith singing woefully, with dramatic violin and accordion backing, "I drank so much coffee / Now my hair it sticks up like the startled squirrels." Even with such lines, though, the Gourds manage to balance (perfectly) the offhand humor of being Texans with small-town stories and musicians with a grasp and reach that connect in a way that defies alt-country stereotypes and blazes trails that only the Gourds will follow. --Andrew Bartlett

Bolsa de Agua,The Gourds,Sugarhill [Country],Alternative Country-Rock,Alternative Pop/Rock,Honky Tonk,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

Bolsa de Agua [Enhanced]

Average customer rating:

Excellent, but a slight drop-off
Just A Bunch Of notes
Winning and charming collection of alt country
Their Best Yet
like a mouth full of beans, jalapenos, beer, and olives

Bolsa de Agua
The Gourds
Manufacturer: Sugarhill [Country]
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

Honky-Tonk | Country | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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ASIN: B00004XSP3
Release Date: 2000-09-26

Tracks:

El Paso
Jesus Christ With Signs Following
Big Santiago Bust
Four Receipts & Fevers
Pickles
O Rings
Bugs
Waterbag
Hallelujah Shine
Layin Around The House
Meat Off The Bone
Flamenco Cabaret
Turn My Head Around
Tearbox
High Highs & Low Lows

Amazon.com's Best of 2000

On Bolsa de Agua, more a backyard hootenanny than a meticulous studio creation, the Gourds threw a party where everyone got drunk and wrestled around in the dirt. Propelled by comfortably drawling, catchy alt-country and the band's loopy lyrics and smart-ass sensibility, Bolsa de Agua brings a crooked smile at every turn. --S. Duda

Amazon.com

Texas's multifaceted Gourds have not been well served by record companies, a fact that has made their hard-to-pigeonhole music often just plain hard to find. To christen their signing to the stable, stellar Sugar Hill label, they're spinning a new, twangier set, Bolsa de Agua (as well as reissuing their prior albums). Bolsa has all the Gourds' characteristic elements--guitarist Kevin Russell's barrel-chested vocals and cleanly strummed acoustic guitars; Jimmy Smith's tipsy vocals and thick, sometimes slappy bass; Keith Langford's thwacking drum punctuations; Claude Bernard's accordion (and more); and a host of here rootsily narrative, there freaked, lyrics. To wit: Smith singing woefully, with dramatic violin and accordion backing, "I drank so much coffee / Now my hair it sticks up like the startled squirrels." Even with such lines, though, the Gourds manage to balance (perfectly) the offhand humor of being Texans with small-town stories and musicians with a grasp and reach that connect in a way that defies alt-country stereotypes and blazes trails that only the Gourds will follow. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

Excellent, but a slight drop-off.......2006-09-09

I absolutely love the Gourds, but in all fairness this album is not one of their best. I think that's just due to the fact that there's fewer excellent tracks. Best tunes are El Paso, Hallelujah Shine, and Meat Off The Bone. However, I'd still highly recommend getting it.

Just A Bunch Of notes.......2004-08-24

Reviewers have invoked the protean era of The Band when contexturalizing The Gourds. I'd conceed that the familial zest & jubilant synthesis of so many musical influences starts the ears ticking; call & response, swing, barrel house, bluegrass, & jug that thumps along. It's not the sound of The Band. Despite the textures, you'd get closer to what a protracted halcyon Band might sound like on the 'Largo' project. And a limper quality on the Danko, Anderson, Fjeld effort,'Riding On The Blinds.' There's such a good time feeling in The Gourds, a swelling, toppling good time that feels almost out of control. Is this musical phenomena merely a regional thing? It's nigh impossible to obtain their CDs, including 'Bolsa' over or under the counter in Australia. How long is it since such zanily infectious music was recorded? Spider John Koerner's,'Music Is just A Bunch Of Notes,' maybe, from too long ago.

Winning and charming collection of alt country.......2003-04-08

Intially I was underwhelmed by this album in the light of the shining Stadium Blitzer. However repeated plays have revealed an album with many strengths. I think I was thrown off by Max's songs, "Jesus" and "O Rings" which bring a decidely rural romantic aspect to the group. In a group as eclectic as the Gourds there is plenty of room for variety. Kev brings great tracks like El Paso, Receipts and Fevers, and Off The Bone to the shindig while Jimmy gives us the rural wisdom of Pickles (if you think it is just about pickling you are missing the point), the back porch boogie surrealism of Laying Around The House and the great folk poetry adaption Flamenco Cabaret.I can't think of a better musical take on Lorca anywhere else! So give it time and it will grow. This album consistent gives to the listener with its easy going manner and homegrown warmth.

Their Best Yet.......2001-09-28

The Gourds, who manage to incorporate every type of North American music into their own unique style, create a masterpiece with this record. From the pop rock "Pickles" to the evangelical "Jesus Christ" the Gourds make every song jump out of the speakers and dance around. The songwriting is their best yet and their musicianship is impeccable. While some of their early works had a sloppy drunk edge to them, Bolsa de Agua manages to stay out of the gutter and on the front porch. The Gourds are one of the most unique artists around and this album relfects and celebrates that uniqueness perfectly.

like a mouth full of beans, jalapenos, beer, and olives.......2001-08-30

I've been a fan of the Gourds for since at least 1998 and they keep turning out amazing recordings. The addition of Max Johnson to the line-up really fills out there sound, which, in ways, defies being neatly slotted in one genre.

Yes, they are bluegrass and country and Texas rock and Americana but they have so much heart and soul. Try playing this CD loud when you are cooking up something interesting in your kitchen, something that involves homegrown peppers and herbs.

The CD is a complex array of musical flavors, from the foot-stompin' El Paso to the countrified Meat from the Bone to the hilarious advice in Pickles to the somewhat grunge High Highs Low Lows, these guys offer a great soundtrack. The band gets tighter and tighter, yet the music, pardoxically, comes across as loose as ever.

By the time you finish hearing this CD, you will feel like you have a mouth full of beans, jalapenos, beer, and olives. You may not be able to quite label the taste---it's an alchemical thing, anyway---but you can bet it is unique.

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