Hoots and Hellmouth

Thu., May 28, 9 p.m., $15, with Old School Freight Train; Fri., May 29, 9:30 p.m., $15, with The New Familiars and The Mural and The Mint, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, johnnybrendas.com.

by John Vettese

rock/country

What's a producer supposed to do with Hoots and Hellmouth? They're a bunch of outdoorsy musicians who like to stomp and holler in a Pentecostal frenzy. Is there any re-creating that furor in the clinical recording setting? When Brian McTear worked on the band's 2007 debut, he circumvented the chaos, reimagining the raucous folk songs as smartly polished studio pieces. On the outstanding new The Holy Open Secret (MAD Dragon), McTear's crosstown production rival Bill Moriarty boldly attempted the opposite. He wanted to harness that wild performance energy, and by God, he succeeded, from the echoes of splintery footstomps and rhythmic clangs of loose keychains to the roomy, spacious ambience. "Watch Your Mouth" lurches in a burlesque march; "Root of the Industry" crackles like an Appalachian field recording. And even the more tempered songs contain a breathless kind of magic; the ambling "Roll, Brandywine, Roll" meditates in whispers on watersheds and weary souls, backed by audio of the bubbling DelCo river. It's not only Moriarty's standout moment on the record, it's Hoots and Hellmouth's best piece of music to date.

Thu., May 28, 9 p.m., $15, with Old School Freight Train; Fri., May 29, 9:30 p.m., $15, with The New Familiars and The Mural and The Mint, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, johnnybrendas.com.