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The music is lively bluegrass, essentially American backwoods music, but since "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" one can appreciate it even as a progressive thinker. So alongside the western guitar, there’s plenty of fiddle, racing banjo, an autoharp (yes, look it up), a washboard, driving snare drum, and in my head, there are half a dozen hillbillies stomping their feet to the music in a saloon. But it’s not, it’s once again a few Californian punks who wanted something different and recognized the concentrated party potential of this music. Nice song, executed with enthusiasm.
Side B is a rendition of NOFX's "Reeko" in the same way, which feels completely different from the half-grooved, half-pounded original version, but I like it. In the middle, the lyrics of "Perfect Government" are spoken over it. It’s supposed to be a little homage (Yeah, kissing up to the boss of the record label, right?) and doesn’t add much to the song, but interestingly, it fits thematically. The multi-part vocals give it an extra melodic touch, while the violin beautifully conveys the melancholy. Small twist: where the original suddenly accelerates, here it slows down.
I’m sure, live, OLD MAN MARKLEY are a blast, the single is enjoyable, but whether the music would eventually get on my nerves over the length of an album (ding diedelding diedeldei fideldie...) I can’t really say. They’ll be performing this summer at various festivals and also with the MAD CADDIES, so square dance instead of slam dance, kids!
