Tidbits: On The Subject Of Lushfarm (Bucket of Rock)

Hey Frederick, it’s been a bit of a lengthy vacation from The Bucket but I’m happy to be back and talking about one of Baltimore’s unique up and coming rock bands, Lushfarm.  Lushfarm is a no frills traditional three-piece rock set up, but for a trio they are making a lot of harmonious noise.  On first listen, one might want to say, “oh, they are just covering 90’s rock bands” and stop there.  While the Lushfarm sound may be very nostalgic of 90’s alternative rock, it is much more organic than just copying it.  Here’s a look into the new self entitled album and the thinking of Lushfarm’s lead singer Craig Taylor.



Track one, Loneliness shoots Our Lady Piece shivers right up my spine and opens you up to the Lushfarm world of non-sugar coated deliveries of reality and wearing your emotion on your sleeve vocals.  Loneliness has some blazing behind the scenes guitar riffs throughout and a heavy drum line powering deep melancholic vocals.  Magnets a song about love and life that gets in the way, picks up the pace a little and has that dreamscape romantic Smashing Pumpkins vibe to it.  Paranoid is the heaviest and hardest rocking song on the album on par with Pearl Jam or the sort.  In your face fancy electric guitar riffs plague this song in a good way.  Three Sides mixes the heaviness of Paranoid and the slow distress of Loneliness.  Three Sides is what I would call the bands puppy mill factor, I bet Lushfarm could churn out songs like this all day long.  Hey Mister is an interesting gold nugget in the middle of the album with a horns section and some figurative metaphoric lyrics overtop that straight up 3 piece rock setup.  Conestoga is a three part series that really exemplifies Lushfarm’s sweet spot and genius.  The first of three parts starts off simplistic, sweet, and slow. The middle section picks up with bongo style drums and lyrically there are many natural world references, which is somewhat rare amongst rock bands.  For instance the lyrics, “I’m not moving to LA… I refuse to be a spec of sand on the beach, I’m a mountain building steam”.  The third part is a funkier British Pop take on the theme and one of my most favorable moments on the album (only because I’m a sucker for Brit Pop Rock).  As a whole, and why I call this the genius song is because simultaneously it reminds us of something we know and love (90’s alt rock) and yet is innovative and fresh enough to stand up as a new indie rock song.  To Know is the last song on the self entitled album and is a solid example of Lushfarm sound, a steady rock beat with emotionally distressed vocals.

When I first heard Lushfarm live back in July, I thought, “man am I getting old, is reliving the 90’s the new fad now?”  Luckily the answer is no, not really.  Lushfarm is just reflecting their roots as children of the 90’s alternative rock generation and transforming that influence into something different amongst the Baltimore music scene.  In the Interview below, Craig Taylor explains Lushfarm, his 90’s influences on the album, Baltimore, and beyond!

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