The AllMusic review of
Cakewalk
Quote:
Still mining Southern gothic for inspiration and making modern roots music, House of Freaks were a bit early for the No Depression movement; "Rocking Chair" would sound just dandy beside anything by Wilco or Son Volt. Yet, on this record, the group tried to push the envelope of what their brand of folk and roots music was about and ended up sounding a little generic, perhaps due to producer Dennis Herring's Timbuk 3 touch. Nonetheless, the charming, Jules Shear-like "Honor Among Lovers" and the Waitsian drinking song "Remember Me Well" stand out. (3 stars)
I give it a bit more credit than that, but it's a relatively accurate description of the sound (minus the Timbuk 3 comparison.)
_________________
Paul Caporino of M.O.T.O. Wrote:
I've recently noticed that all the unfortunate events in the lives of blues singers all seem to rhyme... I think all these tragedies could be avoided with a good rhyming dictionary.