This story was originally published by ArtsATL.
The folk sounds, harmonies and socially conscious lyrics of The Ain’t Sisters might remind you of the Indigo Girls, but only if you can imagine that iconic Georgia band stopping mid-set to slam triple espressos, stick on clown noses and sacrifice their sweet melody maidens to the rock ‘n’ roll guitar gods, all before returning to business as usual.
The Ain’t Sisters’ eclectic folk rock toggles between tranquil and spirited, earnest and irreverent, head nodding and head banging. It’s music with complexity and divergence that retains the activist spirit of the ’60s but mirrors today’s more complicated sociocultural milieu.
Despite the Atlanta band’s music being a little “out there,” or perhaps because of that, it resonates with a rapidly growing audience. (The Ain’t Sisters’ next metro show is a holiday concert on Dec. 20 at the Moonshadow Tavern in Tucker.) Shows are more like festivals than performances as fans, many clad in “Shake Your Taint” T-shirts, dance and sing along to songs they know by heart.
The group’s latest album, “Atomic” (released by Dragonsong Productions), is a similar pastiche balancing social critiques with dark humor, plaintive contemplations with bug-squashing rage and relationship sorrows with frenzied debauchery — all threaded together with tongue-in-cheek theatrics.
“We wear our hearts on our sleeves,” says Arrie Bozeman of the band that includes fellow songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Barb Moose Carbon, drummer Richie Jones and bassist Justin Boudreau. “There’s a lot of emotionality in our songs. There’s a lot of humor, and some of it’s dark and some of it’s weird, and I think that the fact that we allow ourselves to just be exactly who we are — sometimes completely stupid, sometimes really deep, sometimes introspective, sometimes angry and sometimes just broken or scared — gives people permission to broach those subjects or emotions as well.”
Credit: Photo by Melissa Goehner
Credit: Photo by Melissa Goehner
With that kind of emotive range, genre experimentation is the rule both between and within tracks. The unorthodox combinations not only highlight the musicians’ individual talents but also amplify each song’s lyrical message. “New American Dream,” for example, satirizes suburbanite virtue signaling by bracketing cheery pop with military drums and distorted national-anthem licks. “Gringo Tourista” hammers home the urgency of addressing environmental issues with heavy metal intensity and Dylan-worthy, just-look-at-yourself sneer. “Marching Orders” incorporates speakeasy jazz sounds to capture the confusion of wanting to do something but not knowing where to start.
Lest it all get too heavy, “C’est la Vie (The Ballad of Isabelle Dinoire)” is a guilty pleasure that injects “White Album” psychedelia into Ramones punk energy in the same disconcerting way that tragedy can beget dark humor. “Shake Your Taint” begins slow, builds to a K.C. and the Sunshine Band groove and breaks loose into a Widespread Panic-like jam. Carbon claims that the album’s theme is Armageddon, but the tone seems jollier.
Two songs on the album provide gateways for listeners who like genre archetypes. “Chest Pains” is an indie-folk love letter that highlights Carbon and Bozeman’s warm harmonies and could double as a longing to heal the world. “Birds” is a catchy, feel-good tune with Southern-rock flourishes that capitalizes on Jones and Boudreau’s driving rhythms and Bozeman’s power guitar crescendos to elevate Carbon’s vocals into a rousing call for freedom, strength and joy.
Credit: Photo by Libby Gamble
Credit: Photo by Libby Gamble
The album balances an unflinching view of the gritty realities of being human with an existential leap of faith that we’ll somehow figure it out. “We try to thread the positive in with really hard subject matter,” Carbon says.
Bozeman (who also plays mandolin) and Carbon believe that the most impactful songwriting comes from being open to inspiration beyond themselves. “More often than not, the words, or some line, will come to me and not leave me alone. It’s like the idea is out here and it’s ethereal, and it needs some sort of conduit,” says Bozeman.
The band plans its set lists and plays with purpose. “We circle up before each show,” Carbon says, “and Richie reminds us of peaks and valleys — that we’re taking the audience on a journey. We don’t play the same set list every night, and we don’t play the songs the exact same way every night. We’re thinking about who we’re playing to and the venue we’re playing at and creating an overarching story with that soundscape.”
That approach comes from how the band members view their audience and their purpose. “We consider them part of the family and our friends. It’s like our little church where we want everyone to feel welcome and not judged,” says Bozeman.
Carbon agrees. “It’s just such a huge honor to be able to share songs and have them sing along. People are hugging, and it’s like a family reunion. It’s because they all get this message, and they reflect that same spirit onto one another.
“Everybody deserves peace and love,” she says. “And so, if there’s a movement behind us, I hope it could stand for that — inclusiveness, connectivity, kindness. All of that.”
Says Bozeman: “It’s just a really beautiful thing to look out and see.”
CONCERT PREVIEW
Scattered, Smothered, Covered: Ain’t Sisters Holiday Show
8:30 p.m. Dec. 20. $17.65. Moonshadow Tavern, 3976 Lawrenceville Highway, Tucker. 770-674-2133, facebook.com/Moonshadow.Tavern
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Shannon Marie Tovey is an educator and music journalist who covers the jazz, blues and rock scene.
Credit: ArtsATL
Credit: ArtsATL
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