Third Man Records recently announced its final release of 2014, but it's already lined up an album for 2015. This will come from Danny Kroha, a founding member of the Gories who will be releasing his first LP under his own name. Angels Watching over Me will be out on January 27.
While the Gories are known for bluesy garage rock, a press release notes that this solo album is more along the lines of folk and gospel. It was recorded in a century-old vacant house in Detroit, and consists almost entirely of covers. It includes songs popularized by Son House, I.D. Stamper, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Brother Will Hairston and others, with Kroha playing banjo, dulcimer, diddley bow, washtub bass, jug, and mouth organ.
The tunesmith said in a statement, "I was very reluctant to put this stuff out because there's a ton of rootsy cornballs out there doing this kind of stuff and all of them play guitar way better than me. But I think I have something here that doesn't really sound like anything else. The numbers that bounce really bounce. The numbers that drone really drone. I'm excited about this."
Below, listen to the dusty, rustic original "Run Little Children." This is the only original tune on the album.
In regards to the song, Kroha said, "I was sitting by a pond in a park in Rochester, New York, playing my diddley bow, and this one came to me. Son House lived in that town for some years; I like to think he was smiling on me."
Pre-orders will begin in mid-January.
This isn't the first time that Third Man has associated itself with the Gories. Last year, it released a 1988 live album from the band. It's no wonder that the label has a soft spot for the band, given founder Jack White's similar origins as a Detroit garage rocker.
While this is Kroha's first album under his own name, it's hardly his first project outside of the Gories, as he's played in bands like Demolition Doll Rods and Danny & the Darleans.
While the Gories are known for bluesy garage rock, a press release notes that this solo album is more along the lines of folk and gospel. It was recorded in a century-old vacant house in Detroit, and consists almost entirely of covers. It includes songs popularized by Son House, I.D. Stamper, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Brother Will Hairston and others, with Kroha playing banjo, dulcimer, diddley bow, washtub bass, jug, and mouth organ.
The tunesmith said in a statement, "I was very reluctant to put this stuff out because there's a ton of rootsy cornballs out there doing this kind of stuff and all of them play guitar way better than me. But I think I have something here that doesn't really sound like anything else. The numbers that bounce really bounce. The numbers that drone really drone. I'm excited about this."
Below, listen to the dusty, rustic original "Run Little Children." This is the only original tune on the album.
In regards to the song, Kroha said, "I was sitting by a pond in a park in Rochester, New York, playing my diddley bow, and this one came to me. Son House lived in that town for some years; I like to think he was smiling on me."
Pre-orders will begin in mid-January.
This isn't the first time that Third Man has associated itself with the Gories. Last year, it released a 1988 live album from the band. It's no wonder that the label has a soft spot for the band, given founder Jack White's similar origins as a Detroit garage rocker.
While this is Kroha's first album under his own name, it's hardly his first project outside of the Gories, as he's played in bands like Demolition Doll Rods and Danny & the Darleans.
