PRE-ORDER ITEM : Expected
January 1st 1970.
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‘Tombstone’ is Hot 8 Brass Band’s third LP. The second instalment in a two-album set, it closely follows sister album ‘The Life & Times Of…’ (Nov 2012), which gained four and five star reviews including The Observer, MOJO, Metro, Songlines and The Big Issue, and widespread major UK and international radio support.
‘Tombstone’ is an album of stories. “Tombstone Intro” is a prologue to all the tales contained within. As much a hip hop track as a brass one, the Intro spans the many styles and musical inspirations of Hot 8, and tells as many stories, giving way to an uninterrupted run of great songs infused with jazz, blues, funk and a heightening hip hop influence. Sparkling hooks, charged vocals and dynamic rhythms wind out into expressive and playful horn solo breaks. Life, death, tragedy and revelry come together in a bittersweet sonic stew. A symbolic symmetry emerges as the “Tombstone Outro”, rocking to the same atmospheric sway as the Intro, closes out he record. The first single, “Milwaukee Fat” epitomises the album, showcasing one poignant and spirited dedication song for a lost musician and friend, and one raucous party tune (B-Side “Hot 8 Shit”) that updates the age-old tradition of the drinking song along a Big Easy hiphop tip.
In many ways their most deeply personal record, ‘Tombstone’ is also the first Hot 8 Brass Band album to feature all original compositions. While the roaring success of inspired cover versions - including “Sexual Healing” and “Ghost Town” - may have widened their renown, this innately talented ensemble, ensconced in New Orleans’ musical and sociological heritage, have lyrical depth and dexterity, compositional chops and improvisational flair to spare.