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SXSW review: The Court Yard Hounds
Anticipation ran high leading up to the SXSW public debut of the Court Yard Hounds, the new project spearheaded by Martie Maguire and Emily Robison, the two sisters who co-founded the Dixie Chicks, lo these many years ago.
But the anticipation at Antone’s Thursday night was unaccompanied by expectations. The album wasn’t out, only a few snippets of music were available on the CYH Web site, the band had not played in public and, most importantly, for all their years onstage, neither Maguire nor Robison had ever set foot in the center stage spotlight. What to expect?
Those cynics who thought the Court Yard Hounds might be a vanity project designed to breathe some air into careers stuck on high center since their Grammy sweep in 2007 obviously don’t know the Dallas-born sisters. The duo has always been the backbone of the Chicks, which has had three lead singers (Robin Macy, Laura Lynch, Natalie Maines). They have the dogged work ethic of coal miners and the musical chops to enable them to strike out in any direction they choose.
So while the fiddle, Dobro and banjo in evidence at Antone’s on Thursday night might have sounded a familiar chord to Chicks fans, the music was more diverse, and the lyrics more personal than any the duo has essayed in the past. As has been noted, much of the new material, including (one surmises) “Miss You,” “Didn’t Make A Sound,” “Gracefully” and “Then Again” arose as a consequence of Emily Robison’s divorce from singer/songwriter Charlie Robison.
The bluegrass instrumentation notwithstanding, the Hounds’ sound was a full-throated affair, boasting martial rhythms, soul-laden organ riffs and (on “Miss You”) a lissome, sophisticated interplay of keyboards, lead guitar and fiddle. And while neither Robison nor Maguire boast the kind of afterburner pipes that Maines makes full use of, their harmonies are one of those organic wonders that only shared DNA can create.
Apart from the frisson of hearing the new material for the first time, fans got a couple of lagniappe treats: Jakob Dylan (who sang on the album) made a guest appearance for “See You In the Spring,” and the band — Dylan included — tore it up in a ragged-but-right cover of Rod Stewart’s “You Wear It Well.”
Which is, in fact, how Maguire and Robison wear their new roles. The Dixie Chicks are still a going concern — they will tour with the Eagles and Keith Urban this summer —but the Court Yard Hounds are clearly a dog that will hunt.
(For a review of the preceding acts in the Americana showcase, see below)
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