The first in a semiregular series on bands we think are great.
The Bailey Hounds bill themselves as a “cemetery blues” act. No band in Philadelphia has a better elevator pitch than that right now, nor a more accurate or mysteriously enticing one.
Combining an appreciation for horror and the macabre with an educated grasp of folk tradition, The Bailey Hounds sound rustic and faded and urgent and appreciably content in their devil worship, sometimes all at once.
More impressive, this is a band whose members know when not to play. There’s no better example of the band putting the song first than slow-burner “Devil Tree,” which slowly unravels around a dirge of white noise and appropriately distorted bass.
We love these guys to death, and I wanted to feature them today because they’ve had pretty much the greatest week ever:
- They were just featured on The Key’s Studio Sessions
- They opened for The Promise Ring at The First Unitarian Church last night, and
- They’re playing this Saturday at the XPoNential Festival in Camden, NJ.
We couldn’t be happier for them, especially bassist Chris Cardillo, who’s filled in with The Quelle Source many times over the years and ranks in the Top 10 Nicest Men on the Planet in a survey I just made up.
Some of us will be attending the XPoNential Festival this weekend. We recommend it as well.
Let’s climb our tree,
- Dan W
P.S. Coming next week: live recordings of unreleased songs and our show at PhilaMOCA on Friday. Get pumped.