Tom House's unearthly meld of country, folk, and blues on
Long Time Home From Here may give listeners the mistaken impression they're hearing some ancient rural soul who eked out a living in the mines next to
Dock Boggs. But Nashville's
House is very much of this time and place, though his ungodly warble -- which frequently pitches into trills, gargles, and primitive scatting -- and percussive, acoustic muse would fit comfortably on a collection of early 20th century field recordings.
House is not simply a revivalist, however: he's too much the iconoclast to be pinned down to that, and his outright weirdness rings genuine. His is not the calculated, American primitive oddness of a
Captain Beefheart or his ilk. There's real heart (and little irony or overt cleverness) in the noise
House makes, as well as a disconcerting pull between his non-verbalisms and his strong poetic sensibilities (
House started out primarily as a poet). There's also some genuine prettiness here, particularly in the elegiac country-folk of "Judas Song" and "Georgia Queen." "Keep It Boiling" is an uncanny, rhythmic stomp through swamped-out acoustic blues, while the folk chug of the title track is spurred by burning harmonica and
House's tomcat yowls. Few Americana artists stake out such distinct terrain (
Johnny Dowd comes to mind);
House is an utter original and
Long Time Home From Here finds him at a creative peak. ~ Erik Hage