The fact that “If I Were a Carpenter,” the first single released by Sweet Tea, a collaboration started by Erica Wennestrom of Heartless Bastards and Alex Maas of The Black Angles, sounds like The Velvet Underground goes country is by no means a knock on either of these two talents. In fact, I could think of many ways a side project combining the dark, probing psychedelic rock of The Black Angels and the rustic, rugged rock of Heartless Bastards could go horribly wrong. Taking a song made famous by June Carter and Johnny Cash and adding pedal steel, primitive drumming, and lots and lots of reverb isn’t one of them. In fact, by finding this middle ground, they make a compelling argument that Sweet Tea just may be one of those rare side projects which matches or exceeds the output of their principal bands.
MP3: Sweet Tea – If I Were a Carpenter
You can expect a 7″ single by Sweet Tea containing “If I Were a Carpenter” with the b-side, Ray Price’s “Crazy Arms” to be available digitally later this month and on vinyl this September.
