Skiffle Players, The

Skiffle Players, The

Skiff

Spiritual Pajamas

Their second album, Skiff, is a new direction for The Skiffle Players. Now, they all sing and write. There is no leader. Recorded at Infinitespin Recorders in Van Nuys CA, with engineer Matt “Linny” Linesch, the album begins with a bold opening; the Farmer Dave Scher-penned “Cara,” heavy information for the soul. Then, into classic Cass McCombs insanity on “Local Boy,” a wild ride on the run from the cops. Third is a touching tribute to a bygone companion, “Miss It When It’s Gone,” written and led by Neal Casal. The album’s revolving perspective continues to bounce around, leaving no apparent land to stand upon. In that, it is deeply subversive. For there is nothing to defend, but the ability to transform and imagine. The album continues to unfold back to McCombs with a satire on justice, “The Law Offices Of Dewey, Cheatum And Howe.” It goes from the saloon “Long Horns, Long Necks, Long Legs,” to the rainforest “Herbamera.” Casal blasts in again with the sun-bleached rambler, “Los Angeles Alleyway.” Scher’s “Skiffleman” sings a song for everyone. McCombs plays with memory in a song about coming of age in the Bay Area on “Oakland Scottish Rite Temple Waltz.” Penultimately, “Santa Fe” is an elliptical broadside about materialism and waste. The album concludes by pushing off again, out into the familiar waters of a traditional skiffle number, “Sweet Georgia Brown,” each member taking a perhaps all-too casual solo. This is acoustic dance music at its finest. It is also refreshingly...

Skiffle Players, The

Piffle Sayers EP

Spiritual Pajamas

Supergroup, side project, high-school-garage-band-of-brothers-from-other-mothers, whatever its called, this band formed to play a one-off show in Big Sur and had so much fun they’re still at it. On guitar, Neal Casal (Circles Around The Sun) sticks mostly to the acoustic allowing his elegant affinity towards melodic craft to shine. Cass McCombs’s guitar wizardry and acclaimed compositions are at their peak, and his raw, mostly first-take vocals bring the core of the song to the forefront. And when asking “what the hell was that sound”—it was probably Farmer Dave, the official leader and founder of the band, his keyboard / lap steel / harmonium work is the glue that holds the flotsam together. Dan Horne’s bass (Circles Around The Sun) and Aaron Sperske’s percussion (Beachwood Sparks) are so intertwined it sounds like each of them are both playing drums and bass at the same time. After the instant classic and record store rare find Skifflin’ (2015), The Skiffle Players are ready to release two new works. The Piffle Sayers EP is made up of a few gems from the Skifflin’ sessions, and can be considered a companion piece to that debut LP. This foreshadows the release of a new full length album scheduled for this fall.