Photo by Jeff Hanson.

"Callooh! Callay! are acutely aware they hail from the great state of Alabama. They have been in existence, in some form or the other, since 2008. They have three members, two boys, and one girl. They are not just from Alabama, but from the South.
Callooh! Callay! clearly has a deep love for the traditions they work in. At the same time, they revel in subverting those traditions. An old hymn becomes the centerpiece for a song about dissolution, the last coherent snippet before the end. A straightforward rock n’ roller loses it straightforwardness as soon as the lyrics intrude. A synth shows up out of nowhere. A cover of Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm,” becomes a dirty rocker. Not even the band knows if they’ll ever play it again.
It’s in the name- Callooh! Callay! An exclamation of joy, an expression that says words have no meaning. Except for the meaning you make. So they get up and stage and they make meaning.
Oh, and the music? That’s pretty good, too. Rock, blues, roots, folk, pop. Just like the South, a convergence of influences becoming a moment. A moment becoming a shared experience. Sometimes their music sounds like Sonic Youth hooked up with William Faulkner somewhere between Mississippi and New Orleans. Sometimes it holds the righteous fury of the preacher and the resignation of the bluesman. Sometimes it just sounds cool."