Check out Resurrectionists’ ‘The Rest Cure’ the latest single from the dark, doom-laden, gothic Americana specialists. Joe Cannon delivers a fine banjo performance, demonstrating his swift finger-picking and dynamic approach. He’s joined by experimental multi-instrumentalist Gian Pogliano, whose Mellotron adds an atmospheric extra layer, and the pulsating rhythm section comprised of Jeff Brueggeman on bass and Josh Barto’s drums. Indeed, that driving, foot-tapping rhythm is a key element in the song, keeping us moving and engaging the listener throughout. Musically, the song takes unexpected twists and turns, changes in pace and volume and melodic adventures, all powered along by Cannon’s punk-like vocal and urgent delivery. The band say of the song: “The death mask in question is Walt Whitman’s. We imagine he knows things that he probably doesn’t. ‘The rest cure’ refers to trying to cure diseases by sleeping outside in the cold.”
In the accompanying video, footage of the band playing is interspersed with images of them in the woods, discovering a bizarre clock. The band explain: “We come across a clock in the forest: two minutes to midnight! After some frantic surgical intervention into the bowels and brains of time, victory! Three minutes to midnight.” As the band felt all the songs on the album have a cinematic feel, they actually commissioned videos to be created for every one one of them.
The single is taken from ‘Now That We Are All Ghosts’, second album from the Milwaukee-based Resurrectionists. The album, which is out now, was engineered, recorded and produced by the band, with support from Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service. The end result is a mournful collection of powerful songs that reflect on all that life brings and death. If you like your Americana dark and experimental, then this is for you.
