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The two have a noticeable chemistry, which undoubtedly stems from the fact that they’ve been roommates for quite some time. Living together seems to have helped them write music, as Davis explained the very origin of their concept album: Davis and Foster were sitting around the apartment and Foster was playing a guitar part he described as sounding “like a shitty Goo Goo Dolls riff.” Davis chimed in, adding that it would be a great idea to take that guitar part and write the darkest, most disturbing murder ballad to accompany it lyrically. Davis proceeded to devise a concept for the murder ballad and began working out ideas in his head and ultimately realized the concept had gotten too large for one song. The duo concluded it could be a trilogy instead, but as they discussed it more and more, the concept grew ultimately leading to the 20-track Flattville Murder Album.

Living together also helped with the recording process, all of which the two did by themselves. Davis used a “simple computer program” to record and mix the album, which they say took “lots of Saturdays” to complete, spanning a year and a half total and two different houses.
The home-grown sound is prevalent. There isn’t an overuse of reverb and use of effects is limited to minimal vocal distortion, adding a creepy feel to certain tracks. For the most part, the album captures the sound of two guys playing music in the living room, which was exactly what they did. There is little overdubbing on the album. Songs usually feature two instruments and two part harmony. “We can recreate 90% of that album live,” Davis adds.

The large distinction of the album is the lyrics. The band feels that cohesive albums are passé and that the majority of what comes out these days are simply collections of singles. “If you’re going to write an album, make it fit together,” says Davis. With an album so highly based on telling a story, it begs the question of literary influences and how they come into play with Flattville. Foster said that the novelist Denise Giardina (West Virginian author of Storming Heaven and The Unquiet Earth) was an influence. Additionally, Foster read extensively about murder ballads so the two would more thoroughly understand the subgenre of folk music.

Despite the literary quality of the album, Davis says they are not novelists. “We’re not novel writers or else we would’ve already done it,” he says.

The band doesn’t seem so much influenced by other music, either. There is a lot of music of their same genre that they listen to (Gillian Welsh, Ryan Adams) but you get the impression that the genre isn’t even that important to them. Davis said that he grew up listening to some country, but doesn’t really think of himself as a Country/Western person. It’s obvious that the band writes the music they want to—the music that satisfies them—and it happens to sometimes fit into the genre of country, bluegrass, folk or rock. Regardless, the sincerity shines through in their lyrics, their music, their creation and recording of the concept album entirely by themselves.

There’s nothing overwhelmingly commercial about this album. There are a few radio-friendly tunes. The UT radio station has been known to play the first full-track on the album (which follows an instrumental with a backdrop of rain sound effects that Davis recorded in their home), “Small Town”, a somewhat-dark guitar and dobro piece which introduces Flattville like the opening shot of a movie, setting the scene. It wouldn’t have been my guess for a single. The next two tracks, “Sue O’ Reilly” (a traditional, two-guitar bluegrass song) and “The Holler” (a slower, calmer track with guitar and banjo) seem more like singles. They’re two tracks that can stand alone.

Instrumental tracks are placed throughout the album and they’re usually excerpts from old murder ballads, as Davis pointed out. Over the course of the album, the music spans the entire spectrum of emotions. There are fast, upbeat songs. There are peaceful and beautiful songs. There are downright dark songs (although many feature dark lyrics). The album is an experience, and as it goes on the experience gets more and more heightened and the musical and story lines get intricate. One of the most memorable parts is when the album kicks into the home stretch, shifting abruptly (in the style of music) but smoothly and quickly (in the context of the album) from the fast, minor key bluegrass of “Abner’s Wrath” (ending intensely and climactically) to a slower, more droning “At the Railroad Bridge.”

“Some people aren’t going to get it,” Foster says of the concept album, “and some people do.” The two agree that if anyone takes the time to listen to the lyrics, they’ll most likely understand all that is The Flattville Murder Album.

The album is available at Disc Exchange and also at cdbaby.com.

520 Contributer, Greg F. Kennedy (Wood), is a writer-about-town and humbly asks for your support in 2006.