Golden Mixtape

The first half of the year was all about the splits. It seemed that every band was partnering up with a label mate or BFF to bring about an album of a couple or few songs. Then it was months with full LPs or itty bitty EPs, here comes Tin Horn Prayer and Rob Huddleston teaming up on Split. It combines country, Americana, folk and…punk in one solid musical fix.

Tin Horn Prayer caught between looking in a mirror. His folky punk style in “Call a Priest” is an obvious comparison to Frank Turner, and it wouldn’t be that insane to imagine Jim Schear pimping it on a VH1 weekend countdown. With “All’s Well That Ends” it was the opposite. The punk came first and foremost. The rock stuck out more than the folk hints. So they were basically the same thing, but different? Make sense? Tin Horn Prayer has a couple styles in his music, but lets each one take the lead on every other track he does. How polite.

With Rob Huddleston, it’s clear where his heart is; Country and everything it encompasses. Looking at me, many would assume I couldn’t name a Country tune. They’re very wrong. I know a good Country jam when I hear one and “Lucky Ones” is one. It’s striking and slow almost the whole way through minus the awkward pick up towards the end. The tone changed all together when “Angry All The Time” began. My mind instantly went to Americana and Bryan Adams in an acid wash jean jacket…My mind, a wonder sometimes.

As the sun sets on another Los Angeles day, I can say listening to Tin Horn Prayer and Rob Huddleston’s Split was a good time, if you’re into that kind of music. Their record took a lot of the roots sound; folk, Country, Americana and threw in a bit of punk and made them live cohesively together.