When you listen to Dead Reckoning, the third effort by The Butchers and the Builders, it feels as though you are sitting in a room with a band that is playing out its songs for a few open microphones.  And you wouldn’t be far from correct as that is fairly close to how the band handled its recording, done in just eight days.  Other bands might fail putting together an album in this way, but Ryan Sollee and the rest shine.

The songs of Dead Reckoning tackle themes of good and evil, religion and addiction, touching on imagery of America in the early 1900s to tell their tales.  The lyrics resonate well as they describe what could easily be the Great Depression or more recent economic and social downturns.

When I put in the disc, I originally intended to just let it play in the background, but instead found myself focused on the music as it pulled me in.  From the slow build of the opening track “I Broke The Vein” through the sparse “All Away” on down to the pounding finish of “Family Tree”, the raw and emotional performance of each and every song demands the listener pay attention.  It is like being mesmerized by the ravings of a dark and tortured street preacher, finding yourself nodding along to the cadence of his proclamations and swaying to the rhythms of his accompanying band of musicians.

I honestly expected to dislike this at first glance, but now I believe many of these songs have become a permanent fixture in my play lists.