White Hat is the collaborative name for husband and wife duo Chris Senseney (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Stefanie Drootin-Senseney (bass, backing vocals). Recorded in three days, debut album ‘Big Harp’ is a rootin-tootin hoe-down of a record, influenced as much by the west coast folk-rock of the 70s as the spit and sawdust of the deep south.

Doleful acoustic guitars plod along on the majority of the tracks here, complimented by some saloon bar piano such as on opener ‘Nadine’, which borders on parody, while ‘All Bets Are Off’ shuffles along like a tipsy middle-aged person at a Blues gig. We’d wager a tenner that Mr. Senseney wears a rustic waistcoat and rolls the sleeves up on his shirt.

There is little here to get the listener out of their rocking chair as each tale of desperation, redemption and hard-won wisdom comes and goes, ebbs and flows, until you’re left feeling like you’ve spent an evening in a really dull bar in a really dull town.

For a man who has a beautiful wife, two kids and a recording contract, Chris Senseney has a tendency to milk the down-on-his-luck card a bit too much. His plaintive voice is on every track, a voice which often sounds sedated and strangely similar to Julian Casablancas’ drawl. ‘Some Old World I Used To Know’ is the most depressing track on the album, sounding like some old drunk at a bar who is reminiscing about the old times, when all you want to do is get your drink and get back to the party.

One gets the feeling ‘Big Harp’ will not translate to real music fans, instead appealing to those who prefer their music to remain in the background. This could be their token Americana record.

-Jack Prescott-