Music City Mayhem Round 16: Blackfoot Gypsies vs Lulu Mae

The Contenders

In the left: two seated rock-etship (see what I did there) Blackfoot Gypsies. It's easy, of course, to draw the obvious White Stripes/Black Keys comparisons, and I've heard them described as blues/roots/Americana rock, but I think that their track "Don't Know About You" sounds somewhere between The Stones and The Ramones. Or like something straight off a Fratellis record. Regardless, you can't go wrong. These guys are balls-out, no-qualms rockers, and are here to blow out your eardrums (and hopefully your mind too). Don't expect any lyrical subtlety or poetic waxings - the lyrical content is exactly the kind of straightforward outpouring of sexual energy that it should be and is just as hard-rock as the blisteringly loud guitar and never-restful cymbals. The video for the song fits like a glove and features the two getting drunk and playing at what looks like an amateur rugby match in the park. The fact that the video has absolutely no connection to the lyrical content or make any sense in the context of the song actually makes perfect sense. It's hilarious, raucous, and righteous (more on that later).

In the right: folk-rockers Lulu Mae. Actually, the band describes their genre as rock-and-folk-and-roll. Either way, these guys are dreamy, thoughtful storytellers in the folk tradition who are correct in tracing their musical lineage to artists such as Iron and Wine and Ryan Adams. I also see a lot of Nickel Creek-style modern bluegrass, and an eery similarity to Ben Howard in the lead singer's voice. Their song selection, "Corallina," is a beautiful, breezy ode to a heart-breaker with a conveniently lyrical name and some apparent commitment issues...who may or may not be a mermaid. There's a lot of maritime imagery in the song, and the accompanying music video features the band members constructing a scene entirely out of felt of a girl frolicking with some sea creatures on the sea bottom. I'm fine with the exact meaning of lines such as "did you sink your teeth into the bottom of the ocean?" remaining a mystery, because they lend the song a sort of air of mysterious enchantment that I feel is always present in good storytelling. And storytelling, of course, is what folk is all about, because let's be honest: if you're looking for musical virtuosity, talent, or thrill, there's plenty of greener grass out there for you.

The Verdict

Blackfoot Gypsies. They just get me; everything, from the fact that the singer has the same American flag boxers as me, to the fact that they list "Satan" as one of their influences, to the fact that their bio is nothing more than a picture of a napkin that reads "dance f*cker" and a picture of the two dudes drinking in their underwear, compels me to vote for them. Yeah, this all has probably led a lot of people to label them as juvenile, or worse, unprofessional, but Blackfoot Gypsies make no mistake about who their audience is. I imagine a Blackfoot Gypsies concert as a grimy, sweaty, beer-soaked affair populated by hairy 20-somethings with Led Zeppelin tee-shirts, and I imagine that they would have no problem with the fact that the sober fans of the indie-art-rock/post-punk-experimental-fusion opening band might not purchase their album. They're in this to rock, and personally, I think that's pretty righteous. And I think we could use more righteousness today. Vote here.