Skin and Bones – MD Horne’s Last Call (self released)
Last year’s “Red Dirt Bituman” album was a departure for 300 st clare and Johnny Casino bassist Mark Horne, and his 2021 incarnation MD Horne’s Last Call sounds like another. While “Bituman” headed for the wide open spaces of the Australian bush, framing Horne’s sparse songs against a stark, dry soundscape, “Skin and Bones” hops into a boat and sets sail on folk-punk seas.
“Skin and Bones” is the first track to be released (digitally, natch) from the forthcoming Last Call album, "High Tides, More Crimes", on OuttaSpace Records in Australia and both Folc Records and La Villa Nova in Spain.
Mandolin and mandocello from Dion “Drizabone” Dickinson (of bush-punk outfit Handsome Young Strangers) gives “Skin and Bones” its stylistic backbone, with extra instrumentation layered on top. The blend of electric and classical guitars (Johnny Casino and Geoffrey Hallett) and violin (Elise C) against a swaying engine room (Horne and drummer James Swanson) paints a unique aural picture. Horne's gruff vocal adds character.
Drizabone and MD were doing acoustic shows in tandem on Sydney's southside before COVID fucked with our night (and day) life, so it's obvious there's been some musical cross-pollination going on. It's not your classic I-94 Bar fare but pretty compelling, nevertheless, and an intriuging taster for the full-length album.
"Skin and Bones" was recorded at Marc Scully’s Studio 57 in Sydney with the odd overdub emailed in from overseas, and given the Rick O’Neil mastering treatment at Turtlerock. You can grab it digitally here.
3/4
