A surprising -- and surprisingly effective -- change of pace for garage punk obsessive
Billy Childish, 1993's
At the Bridge finds the musician and poet in the company of gritty folk duo
the Singing Loins (
Chris Broderick and Chris Allen), who had previously recorded a pair of albums for
Childish's Hangman label. The trio recorded 14 variations of traditional British folk songs like "The Bitter Cup" (thoughtfully assigning songwriting credits to themselves) with traditional acoustic instrumentation. The punky intensity of
Childish's hoarse voice, combined with the ultra lo-fi production aesthetic he's clung to throughout his career, means that
At the Bridge will never be mistaken for
Joan Baez (thankfully), but fans of the Oyster Band and other post-punk proponents of British folk (including
Nick Cave's Murder Ballads) might find these rough-edged recordings to their liking. ~ Stewart Mason