Track Listing

1. Paso
2. Jesus Christ (With Signs Following)
3. Big Santiago Bust
4. Receipts and Fevers
5. Pickles
6. O Rings
7. Bugs
8. Waterbag
9. Hallelujah Shine
10. Layin Around the House
11. Meat off the Bone
12. Flamenco Cabaret
13. Turn My Head Around
14. Tearbox
15. High Highs and Low Lows

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38314 in Music
• Released on: 2000-09-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.com's Best of 2000
On Bolsa de Agua, more a backyard hootenanny than a meticulous studio creation, the Gourds threw a party where everyone got drunk and wrestled around in the dirt. Propelled by comfortably drawling, catchy alt-country and the band's loopy lyrics and smart-ass sensibility, Bolsa de Agua brings a crooked smile at every turn. --S. Duda

Amazon.com
Texas's multifaceted Gourds have not been well served by record companies, a fact that has made their hard-to-pigeonhole music often just plain hard to find. To christen their signing to the stable, stellar Sugar Hill label, they're spinning a new, twangier set, Bolsa de Agua (as well as reissuing their prior albums). Bolsa has all the Gourds' characteristic elements--guitarist Kevin Russell's barrel-chested vocals and cleanly strummed acoustic guitars; Jimmy Smith's tipsy vocals and thick, sometimes slappy bass; Keith Langford's thwacking drum punctuations; Claude Bernard's accordion (and more); and a host of here rootsily narrative, there freaked, lyrics. To wit: Smith singing woefully, with dramatic violin and accordion backing, "I drank so much coffee / Now my hair it sticks up like the startled squirrels." Even with such lines, though, the Gourds manage to balance (perfectly) the offhand humor of being Texans with small-town stories and musicians with a grasp and reach that connect in a way that defies alt-country stereotypes and blazes trails that only the Gourds will follow. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews

like a mouth full of beans, jalapenos, beer, and olives
I've been a fan of the Gourds for since at least 1998 and they keep turning out amazing recordings. The addition of Max Johnson to the line-up really fills out there sound, which, in ways, defies being neatly slotted in one genre.

Yes, they are bluegrass and country and Texas rock and Americana but they have so much heart and soul. Try playing this CD loud when you are cooking up something interesting in your kitchen, something that involves homegrown peppers and herbs.

The CD is a complex array of musical flavors, from the foot-stompin' El Paso to the countrified Meat from the Bone to the hilarious advice in Pickles to the somewhat grunge High Highs Low Lows, these guys offer a great soundtrack. The band gets tighter and tighter, yet the music, pardoxically, comes across as loose as ever.

By the time you finish hearing this CD, you will feel like you have a mouth full of beans, jalapenos, beer, and olives. You may not be able to quite label the taste---it's an alchemical thing, anyway---but you can bet it is unique.

Best yet
I always thought that Stadium Bitzer would be tough to top, but The Gourds did it with this gem. Part of the reason for this is the addition of Max Johnson whose musicianship really adds a new dimension to the songs. I do miss the horns from SB though, but the bluegrass instrumentation fills that gap nicely. Unlike most country/bluegrass/roots these songs have real personal meanings and shading that gives them more depth than their cheerful exteriors would indicate.

I highly recommend this CD. It is unique in sound and content, and really deserves larger audience. Go see them live if you can. You won't be disappointed.

Their Best Yet
The Gourds, who manage to incorporate every type of North American music into their own unique style, create a masterpiece with this record. From the pop rock "Pickles" to the evangelical "Jesus Christ" the Gourds make every song jump out of the speakers and dance around. The songwriting is their best yet and their musicianship is impeccable. While some of their early works had a sloppy drunk edge to them, Bolsa de Agua manages to stay out of the gutter and on the front porch. The Gourds are one of the most unique artists around and this album relfects and celebrates that uniqueness perfectly.