Stillhouse Hollow appears to no longer be together. Hailing from from Franklin, Tennessee the group was a quartet that eschewed drums and took a more old-timey approach to their music. Nathan Griffin played guitar and banjo, Jess Perkins had rhythm duties with his upright bass (plus occasional piano), Scott Calpin played mandolin, and Joel Meeks blew on the harmonica and into a tenor sax. All 4 contributed vocals.
"Path" opens the album and bops along nicely with a bouncy bass that stands in contrast to the contemplative lyrics wherein Griffin ponders his future: "Where I'm bound is a winding road; it's narrow and it's deep". Everyone contributes here including some ragged harmony vocals that fit the song's homespun ethos perfectly. "Goosebumps" lumbers along in a fun, almost clumsy, way, as the narrator admits that a certain woman gives him the titular condition. It's led by some slashing mandolin from Calpin. He later trades licks with Meeks' harmonica on the upbeat "Miss Meg".
Despite the old-timey feel on many songs, not everything here sounds rustic and countrified. "Can't Take My Love" is a stab at 1950s rock 'n' roll replete with Meeks' wailing sax and plenty of oohs and ahhs courtesy of his bandmates singing in the background. This is followed up by "Pimp Hand". With gangsta rap lyrics that stand out ("It's hard to keep your pimp hand strong/when you can't keep your phone turned on") and acoustic instruments that threaten to turn this into an alt-country-hip hop hybrid a la The Gourds, the music here is a surprising blues-jazz pastiche and it all came across like Tom Waits in torch song mode after listening to some Vince Staples.
While there is an occasional note of sadness or a hint of something serious, Dakota is basically an exercise in fun. There's no exegesis on country life or self-conscious appeal to the likes of the Carter Family. It feels like some guys on their front porch simply enjoying themselves. Things feel a bit rough around the edges but genuine.
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