Secret South
Glitterhouse records/Munich
AAAA (out of 5)

16 Horsepower makes the album they have wanted to make for years
David Eugene Edwards' world is a strange, rather dark world: apocalyptic, biblical, Appalachian hillbilly grungy. Yes, something like that. A preacher that spits on remission and hell-fire. His quartet, 16 Horsepower from Denver, Colorado, also is a hard-to-get affair. But with Sackcloth 'N' Ashes and Low Estate the band reached both neo-country fans and broadminded pop-lovers. 16 Horsepower takes a self-assured step forward with Secret South. The band produced the album themselves and that is perceptible. A great deal more than was the case on its two predecessors, Secret South leans on heavy, atmospheric and slow-paced rhythms. Given shape to extremely effectively with a heightened violin (played by Edwards' daughter), a banjo fading away or a dark piano motif. Edwards' bandoneon, which is so characteristic, is only present distinctly on the opening track and single, Clogger. It is obvious that Edwards has improved overall: as a composer, as an arranger and as a singer. In short, a masterly album.

Secret South is the first record you recorded with the contribution of an external producer.
"Up to this album we were to insecure to produce our own albums. However, we simply wanted to record Secret South in Colorado. This time especially Jean-Yves Tola (drummer) and myself had complete control over the songs and the production from start to finish. Whenever I heard 16 Horsepower music in my head in the past it always sounded like Secret South. But because before this we worked with two different producers (Warren Bruleigh and John Parish) who both made their very own contributions to the albums, it never came out that way. Not that they told us what to do, but it did affect the end result. In the studio we quite regularly did have to make decisions we did not really support whole-heartedly. We probably had too much respect for the producers and their history.

That probably explains why there's a rather surprising musical volte-face on Secret South?
"We don't feel that it sounds very different, but I do understand that fans of our music feel very differently. What I can say is: this is what 16 Horsepower really should have sounded like for all these years. We recorded Secret South a two-hour drive from our homes. Very comfortable. That really was a requisite this time round. I think that the songs on this album contain more secrets than those on the previous two. Both musically and lyrically. But this time there are no topics I want to discuss. Why? Because they're very personal subjects. Secret South' tone is friendlier, a lot less aggressive than what people are accustomed to. I know that many fans of our music fall for it for that very reason, but you can't make the same album three times in succession."

The most important fundamental idea is Secret South' rather optimistic overtone.
"I'm feeling a lot better then a couple of years ago and you can hear that. Not that I'm the happiest person in the world all of a sudden. But the things I believe in, are growing every day. Moreover, Secret South has been realized in a completely different way. For Sackcloth 'N' Ashes and Low Estate I had written the songs all by myself, long before 16 Horsepower existed. This time I collaborated with Jean-Yves Tola intensively. Because we wrote all the songs just before we went into the studio, they sound fresher as well. The making of this album felt like a new start. A good beginning, I feel. Secret South is my first piece of work I can listen to myself. Well, probably not for too long, but it's a start."