HOLLY GOLIGHTLY & THE BROKEOFFS’ ALL HER
FAULT
CONTINUES TRADITION OF TWISTED ROOTS
MUSIC
FROM THE RURAL SOUTH BY WAY OF
THE U.K. AND TEXAS
Album just out March 4 on
Transdreamer Records.
A native of England, Golightly currently lives with Lawyer
Dave on a rural farm outside of Athens, Georgia. The duo recorded this album in
the convenience of their home studio, which they found had drawbacks too. “You
have to be disciplined when you are paying for studio time, but even more so
when you are recording at home,” she says. What with working on their farm,
having day jobs and tending to their rescued horses, the two were challenged to
find recording time.
Being a two-person band (Lawyer Dave “is” the Brokeoffs) made
recording a slow process, according to Golightly. They built their tracks the
DIY way, with Dave layering the instruments. For this recording, they received
some great, donated equipment as well as stuff that neighbors dug out of their
barns that the couple had to clean up. Then, on top of everything else, raging
summer thunderstorms deluged them. “We got flooded out a few times and had the
power go out.” she explains. “The studio had to be shut down for days at times,
so we couldn’t do anything for fear of losing everything if we suddenly lost
electricity, which we did, on and off, all summer.”
Despite all the troubles and trials getting it done,
Golightly feels justifiably proud of All Her Fault, which she describes
as their “most rounded and complete album.” She says that the benefit of the
extra time let the pair “exhaust every avenue of potential” in their songs.
“There’s nothing where Dave and I said that we could have made it better.”
Don’t expect All Her Fault, however, to sound
radically different from their earlier releases. It’s still a raw, rough-hewn
stew of twisted roots music forged by the duo’s distinct musical interests — she
listens to late ’50s/early ’60s R&B and he loves rock ’n’ roll. “I’m not
looking to achieve something that hasn’t been achieved before,” she confesses.
“We just what we do. The songs are really all that changes.”
Full of colorful characters and frank commentary, the songs
on All Her Fault rank among her strongest. Prime examples are the tunes
that bookend the album: “SLC” and “King Lee.” “SLC” opens the disc with a
satiric look at a certain Utah city “where you ain’t gonna have a good time” due
to its restrictive environment. By contrast, the closing “King Lee” celebrates
personal freedom as it salutes the uninhabited lifestyle of an old man who lives
near Golightly, who describes him an “entrepreneur” although she isn’t quite
sure what he does.
Golightly and Lawyer Dave stock the rest of the record with a
rambunctious set of home-brewed backwoods music — from the eerie
swamp rocker “For All That Ails You” to “Can’t Pretend” (which resembles T. Rex
on a rockabilly bender), while “The Best” suggests a lullaby that just might
inspire nightmares.
“The Best” also utilizes one of their recent studio
additions: a piano. Piano actually figures prominently in several numbers
including the disc’s central track, “Bless Your Heart.” This marvelous rant
aimed at people who pretend to be who they aren’t was inspired by a Nashville
star who sings about dirt roads and tractors but really is just a cowboy
hat-wearing suburban kid. “It’s a glorification of living in a trailer and the
locals don’t glorify it,” she states. “I have a problem with people presenting
themselves as something they are not. I do enjoy straightforward honesty above
all else really.”
A tune that stirs different emotions in her is “Pistol Pete,”
which is based on one of their rescue horses. “I really love that song,” she
says, “It makes me cry.” Horses have been an important part of Golightly’s life
for even longer than music. Growing up with her grandparents on a smallholding
in East Sussex, England, Golightly was an apprentice jockey and later a riding
instructor throughout her involvement with U.K. garage rocker Billy Childish’s
musical world. She also took in rescue horses, as and when funds allowed. She
and Lawyer Dave, in fact, bought their rural Georgia farm so that hey could have
enough land to continue and expand that work.
Making music and working with animals are equally important
to Golightly, who has found that they aren’t as different as they might seem.
“You learn skills from one that you can transfer to the other,” she explains.
Balancing the two interests creates touring dilemmas that most bands don’t face.
To support All Her Fault, Golightly and Lawyer Dave will only able to do
a full cross-country tour — their first in a long time — due to the generosity
of their local friends and neighbors, who will take care of their farm and the
animals for the weeks they’ll be on the road.
Golightly acknowledges that she is privileged to be able to
do what she loves to do, but she says, “I work really hard to do all of the
things I want to do.” The definition of a working musician, Golightly has always
had a day job and, in fact, now holds down two. “I have to make a living and
feed these hungry horses.” Her music career supports itself, but it hasn’t made
her rich. “I’ve never relied on making money from doing it,” she confides. “I’d
have starved to death by now if I had done, but I have stuck to my guns and I do
it exactly the way I want to do it.” It’s this straight-shooting attitude that
she also expresses in the honesty of her music.
Wed 04/23/14 Toronto, ONT Horseshoe Tavern
Thu 04/24/14 Cincinnati, OH Northside Tavern
Fri 04/25/14 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom
Sat 04/26/14 Kalamazoo, MI 411 Pub
Sun 04/27/14 Chicago, IL Wire
Mon 04/28/14 Detroit, MI Small's
Tue 04/29/14 Iowa City, IA Trumpet Blossom
Wed 04/30/14 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry
Thu 05/01/14 St. Louis, MO Firebird
Fri 05/02/14 Kansas City, MO Riot Room
Mon 05/05/14 Denver, CO High Dive
Tue 05/06/14 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court
Wed 05/07/14 Boise, ID Neurolux
Thu 05/08/14 Seattle, WA Highline
Fri 05/09/14 Portland, OR TBA
Sat 05/10/14 Vancouver, BC Electric Owl
Tue 05/13/14 San Francisco, CA Thee Parkside
Wed 05/14/14 Santa Cruz, CA The Crepe Place
Thu 05/15/14 Long Beach, CA Alex's Bar
Fri 05/16/14 Los Angeles, CA Satellite
Sat 05/17/14 San Diego, CA Casbah
Thu 05/22/14 Houston, TX Rudyard's
Fri 05/23/14 Austin, TX Mohawk
Sat 05/24/14 Dallas, TX Three Links