Swamptooth: “B-Flat Earth” (2021) CD Review

I used to think the Flat Earth Society was a joke, and a pretty good one. Later, when I discovered those folks were sincere, I realized there are some serious morons on this planet of ours (this was before people started worshiping a game show host and made it clear to everyone just how stupid people can be). And I couldn’t help but think of that when I picked up my copy of Swamptooth’s B-Flat Earth, an album title that made me laugh out loud. I sincerely hope someone creates a B-Flat Earth Society. That sounds much better. Perhaps someone already has? Anyway, this album contains all original material, including some fantastic instrumental numbers. The band is made up of Cory Chambers on guitar, bass and vocals;  Evan Rose on mandolin and vocals; Jay Rudd on guitar, bass and vocals; Jimmy Wolling on banjo and sitar; and Vito Gutilla on fiddle. There are also a couple of guests on one track.

The album opens with one of its instrumental tracks, “Space Base.” There is a brief moody moment before things are set in motion, and then that banjo starts rushing along, demanding our feet pay attention. A great, fiery pace is set and kept, this track featuring some absolutely delicious playing from each of the musicians. This is a tune that might even get the deceased and the forlorn up and dancing. And isn’t that what it’s all about, creating a race of dancing undead? Pretty sure. At any rate, it’s a wonderful way of opening the album. And things get a little crazy there for a moment just before the track’s end. Things settle down a bit for “I Lost My Soul,” a modern song of romance, or a song of modern romance. I still find it odd when modern technology and such are mentioned in bluegrass songs. It’s always a bit jarring, always unexpected, and perhaps that is the point. That being said, this song is delightful and catchy. It opens with these lines: “I married a bot one Tinder night/She was not real, and I swiped right.” I don’t know exactly what he’s talking about there, but we can all relate to these lines: “I’m angry now, I want to find my phone/I lost my soul when I started to scroll.” Oh yes, that sounds just about right. Soon he moves to a real girl: “I’m rejected, a real girl this time/I asked her out on dates online/And you could fill a book with all of my disgraces/All I had to do was ask her to her face.” Every day I am glad I met my girlfriend the old-fashioned way, in a bar.

“The Owl Theory” is an instrumental number, this one with a more serious edge, but still plenty of great playing. I looked up “owl theory” online (I’m not going to find a woman there, but information, sure, why not), and read all about a theory that an owl attacked a woman, leading to her death. It was a crazy story, but you don’t need to know anything about it to enjoy this track. That’s followed by “Platinum Blonde,”a song about seeing a woman at a venue, but then losing sight of her before talking to her. I wonder how many of those moments are there in a musician’s life, spotting someone from the stage. It certainly happens to those of us in the audience too. I like the way he speculates and surmises about her life, singing “You look like you attend art school.” There is a gentle humor to this song. This track features some nice work on fiddle.

When I first saw the title “Twelve Nights Of Drinking,” I thought it might be a Christmas song. But it turns out to be much more delightful and Shakespearean. Yup, it’s a bluegrass song about Twelfth Night, and I fucking love it. It is told from Sebastian’s perspective. Check out these lines: “The count’s in love with his employee/The girl that is identical to me/He calls to the clown to play a melody/Because he did not know his employee’s a she.” And of course this is another fun one, with some great stuff on mandolin, and again, that fiddle work standing out. There is even a cute play on the words “play” and “place” near the end, when talking about Feste: “Clowns have reasons for the way they act/They know what’s going on in this place.” The word at first sounds like “play,” with a bit of a pause before the word’s final sound is uttered. A nice joke. I am a huge Shakespeare fan, so it should be no surprise that this song is among my favorites of this album. I would love it if this band took to adapting a few more of Shakespeare’s plays this way. Heck, maybe a whole album of them. That’s followed by “The Fictitious Wild West,” a sweet, kind of laid-back instrumental tune. Each of the musicians gets moments to shine here.

Things start flying along again with “Made In China,” the pace fitting with its lyrics, the song containing phrases like “moving fast” and “ain’t no time to rest.” The music is a lot of fun, but the character of this song is certainly having none of that fun. This one is told from the perspective of an employee at an Amazon warehouse. Though Amazon is never mentioned by name, it is pretty clear just which company this song is about, with lines like “There ain’t no time to rest when you’re hooked to a timer” and “Sometimes I piss in a plastic bottle so they can get their T-shirt the same day/If I take a break and miss my quota, they’ll call me in and send me on my way.” The band then takes us to a totally different place with “Goa,” an instrumental track featuring sitar. This is an interesting piece, going through different sections. I love that lead on fiddle in the middle. This is the track to feature two guest musicians. Lynn Geddes Wolling is on tabla, and Eric Dunn is on upright bass. I love music that can transport me, and this track certainly does. I also like that these guys take their time with this one, allow it room to breathe, space to develop. It’s the album’s longest track, at nearly eight minutes.

“We knew we’d have to lose our minds just to make it through,” they sing near the beginning of “Only Blue.” Oh yes, that sounds just about right. This song has a sort of sweet sound, but certain parts caught me by surprise, such as when they mention a lady singing and note, “she’s out of tune.” This track features great stuff on banjo, plus a really nice guitar part. And I love the way the mandolin lead drives into another section, the way that develops. That is another of the track’s little surprises. The music really gets exciting toward the end of the jam. “B-Flat Earth,” the album’s title track, is another fast-paced gem. See if your feet can keep up as you dance around your apartment or barn or whatever sort of building you find yourself in. This is a delicious instrumental tune. They then wrap things up with “That’s The Way It Is,” a mellower number in which they sing, “Well, it’s hard to go to sleep at night when you’re not next to me.” That is a line that rings true, though when I say that very thing to my girlfriend, she tells me not to be goofy. Hey, I can’t help it. And I can’t help but love that mandolin work and those harmonies.

CD Track List

1. Space Base
2. I Lost My Soul
3. The Owl Theory
4. Platinum Blonde
5. Twelve Nights Of Drinking
6. The Fictitious Wild West
7. Made In China
8. Goa
9. Only Blue
10. B-Flat Earth
11. That’s The Way It Is

B-Flat Earth was released on September 17, 2021.