#111
May 14 1984
Violent Femmes
Hallowed Ground
5 out of 5
Highlights:
Country Death Song
I Hear the Rain
Never Tell
Jesus Walking on The Water
Hallowed Ground
Black Girls
It’s Gonna Rain
“Country Death Song” is an audacious way to open this record. It’s two notes on a bass and all dark mood. As the father pushes his daughter into the well the music gets softer, more sotto…until BANG the snare hit that is the death of the title. It fits right in with the biblical overtones of songs like “I Hear the Rain” and “Jesus Walking on the Water” and, even “Never Tell”, “Hallowed Ground” and others.
It’s the sacrifice of the child…it’s Abraham. It’s biblical murder.
Violent Femmes was the frustrations of adolescence. Hallowed Ground is something else entirely. It’s as if that kid was sent to bible school and drank in everything he was taught.
The music is distinctly Femmes and dabbles in Americana, folk, Zombies-esque psychedelia, blues & gospel. And it all
I’ve always been conflicted about a favorite track on the album, “Black Girls”. It traffics in some serious ethnic generalizations, there’s African sounds, rhythms as well as a jew’s harp, which gives the song an awfully bojanglesy feel, while also peppering in some Zoot Suit swing…it’s a helluva ride and maybe it’s racist, I don’t know. Is it? Dammit, I can’t tell anymore. I know the lead singer of The Mercy Seat, Gordon’s gospel punk record, Zena Von Heppinstall, was black. Would she approve? Is she the subject of the song? Is this more confessional music by Gano? I don’t know. I just know that it’s a lot of fun.
I’m a pretty devout atheist but Hallowed Ground is one of my favorite records of all time.
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