The Sound of Disaster!

American Calamities is an all-cover album that spotlights some of the worst events of the 1920s. What does that sound like? Well, the originals fit nicely into contemporary categories like roots, country, gospel and jazz. And also there’s one scorching punk tune. Once upon a time, that was a mournful waltz by the Carter Family. Give it a spin. A lot of time has gone by since these songs were first recorded, but the emotion on some of the tracks is still very raw.