Minnie Heart and Bill Howard of the Canadian Ever-Lovin’ Jug Band have been writing and playing original, traditional and future jug band music together for over ten years. The duo is living proof that artists must master the basics and know the classics in order to create truly successful idiosyncratic music. On their new full-length album Move That Thing they play an inimitable mix of styles and influences, ranging from psychedelic folk and acoustic blues to rock ‘n’ roll, slob-glam, jazz ragtime, scuzz-wave, doo-wop and garage rock, at times reminiscent of The Beatles, The Velvet Underground, The Ronettes or even The Sonics, but more often of much older cracking 78 rpm records. All twelve original songs here, captured by analog recording gear, use a one-gallon jug as a bass instrument, but you’ll also hear saxophones, heavy percussion, drum sets, kazoo, violins, cello, soaring string sections, tape delay, wild textures, sonic vistas, backwards effects, and dual lead vocals – with timeless quirky lyrics. This is an intriguing record with different faces that all smile at you in a weird yet attractive way.
Move That Thing is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP, through Jalopy Records. All words, music, performance, arrangements, recording, mixing, production, artwork, photos and layout by Minnie Heart and Bill Howard. They are now working on twelve music videos, one for every song from the album, inspired by the sci-fi, film noir, B-movies, kung-fu, boring documentaries, outsider/art films, 70s schlock, crappy vintage TV shows, old music videos, etc.