Rumbleseat

Comprised of the two powerful voices that lead Gainesville’s Hot Water Music, Rumbleseat is Chuck Ragen and Chris Wollard’s astounding side project, aided by the vocal and bass abilities of Samantha Jones. With nary an electric guitar or pounding drum kit in site, every song on this disc is stripped to the bare essentials of acoustic guitars and strained melodies and harmonies that have defined all of HWM’s work. Occasionally peppering their songs with harmonica or Jones’ sweetly feminine vocals, Rumbleseat are much more than HWM unplugged. Certainly, any outfit fronted by these two would carry a similar surface aesthetic, but the soul of this band remains much more exposed and gentle than anything that the two have done in the past. That is not to say that the record isn’t aggressive, which it certainly can be, but that every hammered chord brings with it a sense of brutal honesty and truth.