Tallahassee: Old Ways

Tallahassee is: Brian Barthelmes (Vocals, Guitar, Banjo, Resonator), Scott Thompson (Guitar, Banjo, Keys), Shawn Carney (Electric Bass, Upright Bass) and Matt Raskopf (Drums, Percussion), and they are from Rhode Island, not Florida.

Despite taking their name from a Native American word meaning “Old Town” and calling their most recent record “Old Ways,” this is not a band that is facing backwards or hewing closely to traditional lines. Or at least not just one traditional line; their tunes are a rich stew of country, blues, and funk lightly spiced with shoegaze, the kind of thing that will warm you up and stick to your ribs at the same time.

These are three of my favorite songs from the record:

Old Brown Shoes: Because Meet me down at the Greyhound station / What have you got left to lose resonates in weird ways right now, mainly because I’ve spent a lot of time on the bus these last couple of months. Sometimes it’s been awful; other times it’s been shared hash browns and shared stories in the chilly light of dawn.
 

 
Riding With the Devil: I don’t ramble as much as I used to, but I’d still sing this song around a campfire, while toasting marshmellows for s’mores.
 

 
Minor Blues IV: It was a tie between this one and I’ll Be Damned; I finally picked this one to share to highlight the way they weave shoegaze shimmer and drone between funk bounce in deft and interesting ways.
 

 
And in conclusion, here are some pictures of them from a recent show at the Bowery Electric, in New York:
 

 

 

 

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