Review: Andrew Thomas & The Believers - Sister Golden Hair

Andrew Thomas & The Believers – Sister Golden Hair
2008, Andrew Thomas & The Believer

Brooklyn, NY is as American as apple pie. You want good pizza? You can check out Vesuvio on 3rd Ave. You want the best Italian sandwiches anywhere? Try Carluccio’s in Dyker Heights. You want the best Kosher Deli? Try Adelman’s. You can find pockets of some of the best of Chinese, Middle Eastern, Russian and other cultures in Brooklyn. What you don’t expect to find is Classic Americana music informed by kitchen table country and 60’s folk music. Andrew Thomas & The Believers come from the streets of Brooklyn, and have released Sister Golden Hair as a download through their website.

This is low-fi recording at its best. Sister Golden Hair is full of the mirth that comes from any band that really enjoys what they are doing. The album has a complete 1960’s feel to it. One can almost hear Dylan singing along on backing vocals here. Highlights include Working Man, California, Indochine and The Conversation. Andrew Thomas’ free and easy vocals and the incredibly tight-yet-loose playing of The Believers make this an enjoyable listen from start to finish.

Sister Golden Hair is currently only available for download, but the band did send me a hard copy for review. So if you’re stuck on hard media like I am, and you ask them really, really nicely, maybe… In any case, Sister Golden Hair is a fine album. It’s not musically world-shaking, but it’s good time music that is well-delivered. It offers much hope for the future work of Andrew Thomas & The Believers.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can download Sister Golden Hair for $9.99 at www.myspace.com/andrewthomasandthebelievers.