The Pine Hill Haints: Tales of Crime Parts 1 & 2

“Alabama ghost music”: That’s how the Pine Hill Haints describe their mix of bluegrass, country, folk, honky-tonk, americana and roots music. It’s a fitting description and suits the band quite well. Their latest 7” Tales of Crime Parts 1 & 2 goes a long way to help prove that fact. It starts with the toe-tapping mid-tempo standard folk-tinged number “Tales of Crime (Part 1)”, which is the better song of the pair. On “Tales of Crime (Part 1)” there’s an emphasis on lyrics like “staring down the barrel of a gun, you saw the deadest men who ever lived a-beatin’ on the rum-pum-pum-pum”. It’s a wonderfully appropriate traditional moment. Unfortunately, “(Part 2)” just comes across as a curiosity and a definite B-side. It’s nice to see the band stretch into new territories, but the psuedo-rap here doesn’t suit them nearly as well. It’s worth a quick spin, but no more.