Like the best recommendations, I didn’t hear about The Builders and The Butchers from Pandora, Last FM, iTunes Genius, or even the Zune. No, I first heard about this Portland roots-music ensemble when I was talking shop outside The Beachland Ballroom during a concert one evening. The story I heard, about a band leading a parade out of the club, through the streets, and back into the club, sounded almost too good to be true. Around these parts, active participation at a show means clapping after each number.

While I’m sure the better live rule applies to The Builders and The Butchers, as it does to most every band, when you hear “When it Reins,” you can easily see how this band inspires such a rabid response. Drawing from both American and Spanish traditions, horns blare in celebration, shakers shake, and drums thump in a grand procession, and all of its played with abandon rarely heard in indie music these days. Standing still with arms crossed hardly seems like an option.

MP3: The Builders and The Butchers – When it Reins

“When it Reins” can be found on the Loch Lomond/Builders and Butchers split 12″ from Bladen County Records.

The Builders and The Butchers
Bladen County Records

photo by Mel Brown