Does one need to be an expert to enjoy honky tonk country? The short and long answer is no. I'm no professor on the genre but whenever I hear those jingly jangly guitar and banjo duets, lap steel pedals lounging their path and warm human vocals pouring out, there's a perhaps institutionalised familiarity borrowed from rock & roll that makes these songs sound tender and genuine on some level. Yet the Scuffers are merely a bunch of musical Glaswegians playing an act - very well - but through the replication of a stripped down honky tonk ensemble, they exhude a real definition of Americana (but not without a skilfully concealed Scottish twang). "Country washed down with Irn-Bru!" as their MySpace proclaims.
In reference to the online presence of both the Scuffers and their label, it should be admitted that their websites are like ghost towns. With only one album to its name (this one in 2007) the small independent Glasgow country and roots label "Miracle Town Records" attempts to pride itself in demanding that any act willing to be released on the label be prepared to play their songs over and over again during the recording stage as overdubs, layering and most 20th century recording techniques are forbidden in some archaic tradition of letting the songs keep their hearts and souls intact. If it weren't for the fact that I'd already seen the Scuffers play live last year, and I was already aware of how very well they can play and sing as a group, it would be a hard push for me to believe that these songs involved no overdubs. For what it proclaims, the mix is a quality job and it's clear that time and effort was sacrificed in the making of "The Life I've Had". The group do their best to include blues styles, as well as the odd celtic notion and rock & roll skiffles, to their honky tonk skeleton and this combined with the authentic lyrical stylings of songwriter and frontman Gavin Wallace provides a bit of an earthy delight for a country group's debut.
According to the very bare liner notes, the album "is dedicated to James Wallace (my dad) and all the girls I've ever known"; this quote is particularly noteworthy in relation to the sex, heartbreak, drinking and general atmosphere of perpetual questioning the lyrics seem to offer. The rest of the country universe can sing all they like about these themes but there's always the unavoidable concern that the happy superstar lifestyles of country pop singsters such as Parton or Taylor Swift give no credence to the emotional content of the music. Have a small-time group with no chance at fame, however, living in the crappy punished streets of Glasgow wearing their hearts on their sleeves and there's no doubting the fiery passion. But what can be said about the music? Listening to country, for the average person, can be a rather frustrating excercise as the rhythms never speed up or slow down, always plodding along oblivious at the same velocity; but the variety of instruments the group decide to use on this release (from the ol' harmonica to violins, appearance and disappearance of rock drums on some tracks) keep the album alive. Between the opening title track and the peaked vocal delivery all throughout the standout "Miracle Town", they demonstrate a lot of promise, but the album feels patchy on the whole, and the skimpy length of some tracks that should be glorified rather than untimely fade away prematurely are sorry moments. Other than these faults though, the album is an example of unrefutedly solid song-writing, and there's no weak performance from anybody featured on the recording (Wallace's top-notch American singing accent deserves a mention also).
As is retold over and over again, specific genres, with their specific forms and specific leanings, sometimes require a bit of musical training and exposure before one can truly enjoy them. Country music isn't for everyone, but as I've already mentioned, it's easy to appreciate it for its history, honesty and music over image attitude. If you fancy a dive into country music but don't fancy the obvious outlets like Tammy Wynette or the Highwaymen, you could give the rough working-class hybridised delicacy that the Scuffers have to offer a bash.
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The Scuffers myspace page, where the recent Christmas single and tracks from the debut can be streamed:
http://www.myspace.com/thescuffers
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