Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Prolific Austin, TX hillbilly scholars the Gourds' eighth full-length release is the veteran group's most relaxed since 2000s excellent Bolsa de Agua. Noble Creatures, a title gleaned from the Beach Boys-kissed "Gyroscopic," a classic Jimmy Smith rumination on everything from Ulysses to bottle-nose dolphins that ends with the line "Only in horniness will we prevail," holds its magnifying glass up to life in southwest with the usual backwoods elegance, beer hall poetry, and sharp, border town nomenclature, but there is a new sense of maturity here that while present on previous releases, makes a keen impression from the very moment of departure. Kevin "Shinyribs" Russell's bubbly opener "How Will You Shine" sets the pace with a full horn section and a winning refrain of "Sit down with your woman/Tell her the way that you feel" that in anybody else's hands would sound coy. Smith follows with the Band-inspired "Kicks in the Sun," the ballsy "A Few Extra Kilos," and the typically irreverent "Spivey," but this is Russell's album. "Promenade," "Moon Gone Down," "Last Letter," and "Steeple Full of Swallows" are four of the finest songs he's ever put to tape, and like all good ballads they soar on melody, speak the truth, be it amiable or devastating and leave the listener clamoring for a second spin. Noble Creatures ranks high among the group's deepening catalog, and its top-notch production could land it in some laps that the band's previous recordings may have missed. It's also a fitting description of these off-center country bards, and would prove apt if they ever considered a name change.
© James Christopher Monger /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From 12.49€/month
Kevin Russell, Composer - The Gourds, MainArtist - Krakatowa McDinglefury World Publishers (BMI), MusicPublisher
2007 Nine Mile Records 2007 Krakatowa McDinglefury World Publishers (BMI)
Jimmy Smith, Composer - The Gourds, MainArtist - Slosinger-Redbury (BMI), MusicPublisher
2007 Nine Mile Records 2007 Slosinger-Redbury (BMI)
Kevin Russell, Composer - The Gourds, MainArtist - Krakatowa McDinglefury World Publishers (BMI), MusicPublisher
2007 Nine Mile Records 2007 Krakatowa McDinglefury World Publishers (BMI)
Jimmy Smith, Composer - The Gourds, MainArtist - Slosinger-Redbury (BMI), MusicPublisher
2007 Nine Mile Records 2007 Slosinger-Redbury (BMI)
Kevin Russell, Composer - The Gourds, MainArtist - Krakatowa McDinglefury World Publishers (BMI), MusicPublisher
2007 Nine Mile Records 2007 Krakatowa McDinglefury World Publishers (BMI)
Jimmy Smith, Composer - The Gourds, MainArtist - Slosinger-Redbury (BMI), MusicPublisher
2007 Nine Mile Records 2007 Slosinger-Redbury (BMI)
Kevin Russell, Composer - The Gourds, MainArtist - Krakatowa McDinglefury World Publishers (BMI), MusicPublisher
2007 Nine Mile Records 2007 Krakatowa McDinglefury World Publishers (BMI)
Max Johnston, Composer - The Gourds, MainArtist - Smokey Drink Smoke Sounds (BMI), MusicPublisher
2007 Nine Mile Records 2007 Smokey Drink Smoke Sounds (BMI)
Jimmy Smith, Composer - The Gourds, MainArtist - Slosinger-Redbury (BMI), MusicPublisher
2007 Nine Mile Records 2007 Slosinger-Redbury (BMI)
Kevin Russell, Composer - The Gourds, MainArtist - Krakatowa McDinglefury World Publishers (BMI), MusicPublisher
2007 Nine Mile Records 2007 Krakatowa McDinglefury World Publishers (BMI)
Kevin Russell, Composer - The Gourds, MainArtist - Krakatowa McDinglefury World Publishers (BMI), MusicPublisher
2007 Nine Mile Records 2007 Krakatowa McDinglefury World Publishers (BMI)
Jimmy Smith, Composer - The Gourds, MainArtist - Slosinger-Redbury, MusicPublisher
2007 Nine Mile Records 2007 Slosinger-Redbury
Kevin Russell, Composer - The Gourds, MainArtist - Krakatowa McDinglefury World Publishers (BMI), MusicPublisher
2007 Nine Mile Records 2007 Krakatowa McDinglefury World Publishers (BMI)
Jimmy Smith, Composer - The Gourds, MainArtist - Slosinger-Redbury (BMI), MusicPublisher
2007 Nine Mile Records 2007 Slosinger-Redbury (BMI)
Album review
Prolific Austin, TX hillbilly scholars the Gourds' eighth full-length release is the veteran group's most relaxed since 2000s excellent Bolsa de Agua. Noble Creatures, a title gleaned from the Beach Boys-kissed "Gyroscopic," a classic Jimmy Smith rumination on everything from Ulysses to bottle-nose dolphins that ends with the line "Only in horniness will we prevail," holds its magnifying glass up to life in southwest with the usual backwoods elegance, beer hall poetry, and sharp, border town nomenclature, but there is a new sense of maturity here that while present on previous releases, makes a keen impression from the very moment of departure. Kevin "Shinyribs" Russell's bubbly opener "How Will You Shine" sets the pace with a full horn section and a winning refrain of "Sit down with your woman/Tell her the way that you feel" that in anybody else's hands would sound coy. Smith follows with the Band-inspired "Kicks in the Sun," the ballsy "A Few Extra Kilos," and the typically irreverent "Spivey," but this is Russell's album. "Promenade," "Moon Gone Down," "Last Letter," and "Steeple Full of Swallows" are four of the finest songs he's ever put to tape, and like all good ballads they soar on melody, speak the truth, be it amiable or devastating and leave the listener clamoring for a second spin. Noble Creatures ranks high among the group's deepening catalog, and its top-notch production could land it in some laps that the band's previous recordings may have missed. It's also a fitting description of these off-center country bards, and would prove apt if they ever considered a name change.
© James Christopher Monger /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 14 track(s)
- Total length: 00:54:19
- Main artists: The Gourds
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Nine Mile Records
- Genre: Blues/Country/Folk Country
2007 Nine Mile Records 2007 Nine Mile Records
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.