The Schomberg Fair – Gospel

Armed with a distinct banjo call and full-band grass roots mentality, The Schomberg Fair is unlike much else in the folk inspired indie circuit.  I’ve had friends exclaim, “this is Hindi!” after the first track, and others who have thought they were being sermonized.  Categorizing their second full length, Gospel, proves quite the elusive task, but those familiar with the gothic country worlds of Elliot Brood, O’Death, orSlim Cessna’s Auto Club might be in a position to best understand the awaiting madness.

Perhaps The Schomberg Fair’s most odd and isolating feature unfolds in their Asiatic deployment of their banjo (if the liner notes didn’t clarify, I’d swear it was a setar).  At the first pluck of the deceivingly traditional Americana instrument in “Angel’s Wings,” the band sounds a world away from their prairie landscape and as if setting up base in the back allies of Mumbai and leading a Hindi ho-down (or whatever they call them over there).  They’ve recorded the instrument with a gritty live quality, sounding as if the methodical plucking of “Drunkard’s Prayer” was booming from a neighbouring dirt road alley.  But when combined with a quick folky (and eventually bluesy) tempo, two contrasting vocalists worth of wiry dust bowl meets booming baritone, the song transcends all regional ties.  Insightfully, the group doesn’t settle on any particular sound long enough to let it strangle them, so while an Indian overtone kicks off the record, The Schomberg Fair continually evolves.

By the time traditional folk song “Wayfaring Stranger” passes through five tracks in, the trio expands into the realm of vintage rockabilly/psychobilly.  Boasting the wavering distortion and speedy delivery of 80’s legends The Krewmen, the band’s twangy guitar and heavy pedal work forges a unique blend of spaghetti western meets front porch country.  The resulting instrumental work could very well accompany a cinematic horse chase into the sunset.

Based on Gospel’s eleven-song spread, the best material occurs at the highest speeds.  Of note, the whirlwind clamor of “Pretty Bird” jumps out as a defining high point while furthering the band’s homage to 50’s blues.  Conversely, a few mellow passages meander like a roaring river’s deliberating channels, dampening The Schomberg Fair’s rapid-fire pacing.  While those like “Can’t Go Home” strike a pleasing balance, others like “Strange Kind Of Grace” and “Trouble Will Soon Be Over” merely leave listeners awaiting then next big shindig.

Thematically, Gospel exists in a world of vice, vagrancy, and confronting or succumbing to personal demons.  Ten tracks in and the group try their hand at the traditional piece “Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down,” which empowered by those cavernous vocals plays out like a poweful sermon being preached to a fearing congregation.  As a point of escalation, the song couldn’t offer a more fitting climax.

The Schomberg Fair has chosen a very particular niche, and one in which first impressions often shape a career.  As it turns out, Gospel has all the distinction and personality of a group deserving of a following well beyond its rural borders.  Well worth a your curiosity.