The Dead South

I am sure many of you have heard already of the Regina (Canada) based bluegrass band. Their last year's (2017) music video to the band's single "In Hell He'll Be in Good Company" went viral and this year, in 2018, The Dead South  has won the Canadian Juno Awards with it's album Illusion & Doubt in the category 'Traditional Roots Album of the Year'.

Image: YouTube

But who are they? 

The Dead South consists of five musicians who are based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

"With Nate Hilts’ gritty vocals and aggressive guitar, Scott Pringle’s soaring harmonies and mandolin chops, Eliza Mary Doyle’s blazing banjo licks, and prominent cello melodies by Danny Kenyon and Erik Mehlsen. TDS blends elements of folk, bluegrass, classical, and rock which results in a unique, modern, and authentic blend of boot-stompin’ acoustic music" (Junoawards 2018)

The band got together in 2012 and a year later, in 2013 they released an EP with the title "The-Ocean-Went-Mad-and-We-Were-to-Blame". With the success of this, The Dead South recorded their first full-lenghts album "Good Company". When playing at the Canadian Music Week Festival, they attracked the attention of Jörg Tresp of Devil Duck Records in Hamburg, Germany, who immediately signed the band and released the album "Europe" with them. Their second full-lenghts album Illusion-&-Doubt" was released in 2016. Since then, the band's success is ongoing - with good reason.

The Dead South - In Hell He'll Be in Good Company:

Nowadays it is rare to find a band who's music is honest, handmade and soul-full. When researching on TDS, on their homepage Nate Hilts, the vocalist/guitarist, states in the "about"-article: “A lot of our inspiration comes from an old school feel, but our sound is an amalgamation of the we all like, and the punk influence is definitely there”.

Further, Nate Hilts told about The Dead South's ability to disguise heavy and dark topics in happy sounds. He said that a lot of the songs are dealing with a tragic theme or really bad habits. The music of TDS really just sinks into your soul because it is so "raw, raucous and so aggressively honest it seems like the band just rolled out of bed, grabbed a bottle of whisky and hit the stage".

In 2015 The Dead South was touring and it paid off, but being on the road constantly comes with challenges. The banjo player Colton Crawford left the band after fighting insomnia and exhaustion for over a year. Therefore, the tour in 2015 had to be cancelled. "Since Crawford’s resignation, noted session player and solo artist, Eliza Mary Doyle, has stepped in to fill the void."

The Dead South - Time for Crawlin':

The Dead South is really unique. With their fast and stomping sound, I guess musicians like Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, etc. would have been interested in and maybe even doing something together with them. "Illusion-&-Doubt" is the perfect album for a long roadtrip through Canada - or whereever your heart (and your wheel) takes you.

The chorus of "Dead Man's Isle" maybe exactly describes something like that ;-)

"Goin' away for awhile
Goin' away for awhile
They might be shipping' me away to
Dead man's isle
And if I can't find a way to win
This dreadful trial
I'll be goin' away for awhile"

... But actually the topic of the song is sad and rather 'heavy' content, just like every song of The Dead South has a story to tell. Writing lyrics and converting thoughts and feelings into music is also a way to process emotions and experiences. I personally always wonder what someone must have gone through or experienced to write such emotional songs. Maybe not everything was experienced by a songwriter him-/herself, but at least (s)he must have been emotionally attached or attrackted to a story.

"The Good Lord" is somewhat of an earworm. It is, I think, about an inner fight with oneself, facing fears and maybe questioning the whole life.

"Massacre of El Kuroke" is one of the calmer songs on the album. The reason for this could be that the lyrics theme deals with tough content. The background might be the massarce of El Mozote, El Salvador, in 1981. The Salvadoran Army killed more than 800 civilians during their civil war.

All songs do have good tones and a huge amount of atmosphere. It is not possible to not be touched by the lyrics and the matching sound. In my point of view, this band is highly talented and I am sure they will appear even "bigger" and wider spread thorughout the international roots/bluegrass/folk music scene.

The Dead South - Gunslinger's Glory:

That song actually tells an important story to hear about the modern-day lifestyle of "higher, bigger, more and everything". Sad that some people still believe they have to be the very best to be accepted by the society. Some are talking through their gun, even though they would not have to. Where we are back at the topic of gun violence... But I am not getting into politics now. The song ends with a couple-of-minutes-long instrumental part that convinces of the musical talent of The Dead South. An extraction of the lyrics:

"I want to be the very best
Best there ever is
The quickest draw
The toughest motherfucker in these lands
I want to be the very best
Best there ever is
The quickest draw
The toughest motherfucker in these... lands

Going around every day as I shoot away
Taking 'em on down to their knees to pray
Make my way up to the top, as I knew I would
Being a gunslinger is a glory and goddamn, goddamn it's good"

  ~   Johanna Walser