The Builders and the Butchers' Fifth Album Strips Back and Opens up the Band's Rootsy Sound

Though easily sourced, "The Spark" still features all the earthy, bucolic appeal of its predecessors.

By Cris Lankenau

The Builders and the Butchers, The Spark  (Badman Recording Co.)

[TO BUILD A FIRE] For their fifth LP, the Builders and the Butchers, WW's Best New Band of 2008, attempt to strip back the dense jamboree feel of their previous output. The brawny, roadhouse-blues vibe of The Spark was, according to the band, inspired by the White Stripes' White Blood Cells and the king of brawling bar music, Tom Waits. The influence of the former is particularly palpable in the eclectic mix of musical styles from track to track. There's the outright rocker ("No Grave"), the amped-up punk track ("Older Than Sin"), the folky campfire lullaby ("Let It Shine"), the doomsday blues-rock anthem ("Casket Lands") and the stripped-down a cappella spiritual ("Let the Wind Carry Me Home"). It's nothing to call a copyright lawyer over, but for a guy who brazenly employs the same hollow vibrato made so famous by another local frontman, Colin Meloy, you can't help but wonder if singer-songwriter Ryan Sollee is an especially impressionable sort. Though easily sourced, The Spark still features all the earthy, bucolic appeal of its predecessors. The Builders are adept enough to evolve through the variety of sonic signatures deftly, and the kinetic energy so present in their live show is apparent in each track. Even the downtempo crooners retain a slow-burn, high-drama appeal that feels more like intentional respites—breathing room for the explosion that's always sure to follow. 

SEE IT: The Builders and the Butchers play the Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Ave., with Loch Lomond, on Saturday, May 6. 9 pm. $13 advance, $15 day of show. All ages.

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