(Transdreamer) On Clippety Clop, UK punk turned Athens-area musician Holly Golightly explores songs that reflect her experiences and surroundings. Golightly and her significant other, Lawyer Dave, rescue horses in Madison County, so it makes sense that they’d relate to the folk and popular histories of equine-themed lyrics. Twelve such selections make up what might be the first and only covers album of blues, country and indie-rock songs about horses.
From swearing like sailors while honoring Jimmie Rodgers’ “Mule Skinner” to making alt-rockers Red Red Meat’s “Carpet of Horses” sound like alt-country, the couple adds its own twist to each song covered. This juxtaposition between songs’ traditional arrangements and Golightly’s new musical interpretations keeps conjuring up surprises. Examples include the rockabilly swing on Big Maybelle’s “Jinny Mule” and the Vaselines-style indie-pop vibe added to cowboy anthem “I Ride an Old Paint.”
Golightly explores a wide range of musical approaches, making this a broad-reaching introduction for listeners who only know her White Stripes collaboration. For those who share her and Jack White’s interest in unearthing musical history, prepare for a primer on everything from the Singing Brakeman to the legendary British race horse Stewball.
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