# Freakwater

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**Freakwater** is an American [alternative country](/source/Alternative_country) band from [Louisville, Kentucky](/source/Louisville,_Kentucky), with one co-founding member living in [Chicago](/source/Chicago).[1] Freakwater is known for the lead vocals of Janet Bean and Catherine Irwin, who mix harmony and melody in idiosyncratic dissonant country-folk that is reminiscent of the [Carter Family](/source/Carter_Family).[2][3][4]

## History

### Thrill Jockey

In 1989, Janet Beveridge Bean (of rock band [Eleventh Dream Day](/source/Eleventh_Dream_Day)) and Catherine Irwin founded the band, and they have been supported by several musicians since then, including members of [Califone](/source/Califone) (2005 *Thinking of You* tour). Bassist David Wayne Gay, formerly of [Stump The Host](/source/Stump_The_Host), is another long-time member of the band. They released their records on Chicago's [Thrill Jockey](/source/Thrill_Jockey) label.[5] From 2006 to 2013, Bean and Irwin worked on other projects. A reissue of 1993's *Feels Like the Third Time* as a 20-year anniversary restarted the duo playing together as Freakwater.[6] In 2014, the band went out on the road, touring and playing the record as their main set.[7]

### Bloodshot Records

In February 2016, Freakwater released the record *Scheherazade* on [Bloodshot Records](/source/Bloodshot_Records). In advance of the full-length record—-the duo's first record since 2005-—Freakwater released a single called "The Asp And The Albatross".[8]

### Freakons

In 2013, and again in September 2017 and July 2021, Janet Bean and Catherine Irwin of Freakwater joined with [Jon Langford](/source/Jon_Langford) and [Sally Timms](/source/Sally_Timms) of the [Mekons](/source/Mekons) to be the Freakons, performing original and cover songs about [coal mining](/source/Coal_mining) in [Appalachia](/source/Appalachia), [England](/source/England), and [Wales](/source/Wales), to support the non-profit organization [Kentuckians for the Commonwealth](/source/Kentuckians_for_the_Commonwealth). Each time, the Freakons performed at the [Hideout](/source/The_Hideout_Inn) in [Chicago](/source/Chicago), and elsewhere in [Wisconsin](/source/Wisconsin). In 2013, they also performed at [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco)'s [Hardly Strictly Bluegrass](/source/Hardly_Strictly_Bluegrass) festival. In 2017, they were accompanied by violinists [Jean Cook](/source/Ida_(band)) of [New York City](/source/New_York_City) and Anna Krippenstapel of [Louisville](/source/Louisville,_Kentucky) ([The Other Years](/source/The_Other_Years), [Joan Shelley](/source/Joan_Shelley), etc.), and, only in Chicago, by Chicago/Louisville guitarist [James Elkington](/source/James_Elkington) ([The Horse's Ha](/source/The_Horse's_Ha), etc.). In 2021, the same line-up, without Elkington, performed, and they released the live album *Freakons*, recorded at the 2017 Chicago performances. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]

## Artistry

Hilary Saunders of *[Paste Magazine](/source/Paste_(magazine))* assessed the band's musical style: "*Old Paint* musically looks backwards. It has the jauntiness of [barn dances](/source/Barn_dance), complete with [fiddles](/source/Fiddle), [dobros](/source/Dobro), and [tambourines](/source/Tambourine). Yet, Irwin and Bean's voices, content in their different [ranges](/source/Vocal_range), somehow meld to tell [country tales](/source/Oral_literature) that still sound ahead of their time."[16]

## Collaborations

- The band makes an appearance in the 1994 [cult](/source/Cult) [road movie](/source/Road_movie) *[Half-cocked](/source/Half-cocked_(movie))*.

## Discography

### Albums

- 1989: *Freakwater* ([Amoeba Records](/source/Amoeba_Records))
- 1991: *Dancing Under Water / Freakwater* (Amoeba Records)
- 1993: *Feels Like the Third Time* ([Thrill Jockey](/source/Thrill_Jockey);City Slang)
- 1995: *Old Paint* (Thrill Jockey; City Slang)
- 1995: *June 6, 1994* ([Glitterhouse Records](/source/Glitterhouse_Records))
- 1997: *Dancing Under Water* LP/CD (Thrill Jockey)
- 1998: *[Springtime](/source/Springtime_(Freakwater_album))* LP/CD (Thrill Jockey)
- 1999: *[End Time](/source/End_Time_(Freakwater_album))* LP/CD (Thrill Jockey)
- 2005: *Thinking of You...* (Thrill Jockey)
- 2016: *Scheherazade* ([Bloodshot Records](/source/Bloodshot_Records))

### Singles

- 1990: "Your Goddamned Mouth" / "War Pigs" (1 1/4 York Records)
- 1993: "My Old Drunk Friend" / "Kentucky" (Thrill Jockey)
- 1995: "South of Cincinnati" / "Cut Me Out" (Thrill Jockey)
- 1999: "Hellbound" / "Lorraine" (Thrill Jockey)
- 2015: "The Asp & The Albatross" / "Fullerene" (Bloodshot Records)

### Compilations

- 1993: *Keep On The Sunny Side: A Tribute to the Carter Family* (Amoeba Records)
- 1999: "Picture in My Mind" - *[Alt.Country Exposed Roots](/source/Alt.Country_Exposed_Roots)* (K-Tel Records)
- 2019: "Sway" - *Too Late to Pray: Defiant Chicago Roots* (Bloodshot Records)[17][18]
- 2021: "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You" - *The Closing Time 2020* - Janet Beveridge Bean & [Sally Timms](/source/Sally_Timms) with the [Pine Valley Cosmonauts](/source/Pine_Valley_Cosmonauts) ([Virtue Cider](/source/Virtue_Cider))[19]

### Catherine Irwin solo (partial)

- 2003: *Cut Yourself A Switch* (Thrill Jockey)
- 2012: *Little Heater* (Thrill Jockey)

### Janet Bean solo (partial)

- 1992: *Jesus Built A Ship To Sing A Song To* - Jeff Lescher & Janet Beveridge Bean (released under the name "Jeff and Janet") (Megadisc)
- 2004: *Dragging Wonder Lake* (Thrill Jockey)

### Freakons

- 2021 *Freakons* ([Fluff & Gravy Records](/source/Fluff_%26_Gravy_Records))[15]

## References

1. Ratliff, Ben (19 February 1998). ["In Performance; Pop"](https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/19/arts/in-performance-pop-652660.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. Retrieved 19 November 2015.

1. Cooper, Duncan (20 January 2016). ["Freakwater Still Rules, 30 Years Later"](https://www.thefader.com/2016/01/20/freakwater-number-one-with-a-bullet). *[The FADER](/source/The_FADER)*. Retrieved 20 January 2016.

1. Gendron, Bob (23 January 2013). ["Freakwater spotlights mood and melody at the Hideout"](https://www.chicagotribune.com/2013/01/23/freakwater-spotlights-mood-and-melody-at-the-hideout/). *[Chicago Tribune](/source/Chicago_Tribune)*. Retrieved 20 January 2016.

1. Kemp, Mark (2007). ["Freakwater"](http://trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=freakwater). *[Trouser Press](/source/Trouser_Press)*. Retrieved 20 January 2016.

1. Reger, Rick (12 October 1995). ["Freakwater: Old Paint"](http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/freakwater/Content?oid=888696). *[Chicago Reader](/source/Chicago_Reader)*. Retrieved 19 November 2015.

1. Hopper, Jessica (17 January 2013). ["Freakwater back with a melodic bang, no whimper"](https://www.chicagotribune.com/2013/01/17/freakwater-back-with-a-melodic-bang-no-whimper/). *[Chicago Tribune](/source/Chicago_Tribune)*. Retrieved 20 January 2016.

1. Adrian (August 3, 2015). ["Interview with Janet Beveridge Bean (Eleventh Dream Day)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150806025919/http://www.adequacy.net/2015/08/interview-with-janet-beveridge-bean-eleventh-dream-day/). *DOA*. Archived from [the original](http://www.adequacy.net/2015/08/interview-with-janet-beveridge-bean-eleventh-dream-day/) on August 6, 2015.

1. Siregar, Cady (3 November 2015). ["Freakwater – "The Asp And The Albatross" (Stereogum Premiere)"](http://www.stereogum.com/1841021/freakwater-the-asp-and-the-albatross-stereogum-premiere/mp3s/). *[Stereogum](/source/Stereogum)*. Retrieved 19 November 2015.

1. Rami (4 September 2013). ["Bloodshot News: Mekons + Freakwater = Freakons!"](https://web.archive.org/web/20180806084913/https://www.bloodshotrecords.com/news/mekons-freakwater-freakons). Bloodshot Records. Archived from [the original](https://www.bloodshotrecords.com/news/mekons-freakwater-freakons) on August 6, 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-05.

1. ["2013"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=453k2UjkH14&t=7s). Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. 2013. [Archived](https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/453k2UjkH14) 2021-12-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-08-09.

1. [Kendrick, Monica](/source/Monica_Kendrick) (31 August 2017). ["Alt-country heroes Freakwater and postpunk lifers the Mekons come together to get their Freakons"](https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/alt-country-heroes-freakwater-and-postpunk-lifers-the-mekons-come-together-to-get-their-freakons/Content?oid=29814321). [Chicago Reader](/source/Chicago_Reader). Retrieved 2018-08-05.

1. Loerzel, Robert (19 September 2017). ["Freakons at the Hideout and the Shitty Barn"](http://www.undergroundbee.com/2017/09/19/freakons-at-the-hideout-and-the-shitty-barn/). [Loerzel, Robert](/source/Robert_Loerzel). Retrieved 2018-08-05.

1. ["Freakons (early patio show)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210608173235/https://hideoutchicago.com/event/freakons-early-patio-show-7-24-21/). Hideout. 8 June 2021. Archived from [the original](https://hideoutchicago.com/event/freakons-early-patio-show-7-24-21/) on June 8, 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-08.

1. ["Fluff & Gravy Records"](https://fluffandgravy.com/). Fluff & Gravy Records. 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-30.

1. '**Freakons*[album liner notes]*. Fluff & Gravy Records. 2021.**

1. ["The 70 Best Alt-Country Albums of All Time"](https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/alt-country/the-50-best-alt-country-albums-of-all-time). *Paste Magazine*. Retrieved 2025-06-05.

1. Vitali, Marc (November 7, 2019). ["Chicago's Bloodshot Records Celebrates 25th Anniversary"](https://news.wttw.com/2019/11/07/chicago-s-bloodshot-records-celebrates-25th-anniversary). [WTTW](/source/WTTW). Retrieved 2019-11-26.

1. ["Too Late to Pray: Defiant Chicago Roots"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200428124135/https://www.bloodshotrecords.com/album/too-late-to-pray). Bloodshot Records. 2019. Archived from [the original](https://www.bloodshotrecords.com/album/too-late-to-pray) on 2020-04-28. Retrieved 2019-11-26.

1. [Kendrick, Monica](/source/Monica_Kendrick) (July 8, 2021). ["The Pine Valley Cosmonauts make Tom Waits's 1973 debut feel relevant for our times"](https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/the-pine-valley-cosmonauts-make-tom-waitss-1973-debut-feel-relevant-for-our-times/Content?oid=90043617). [Chicago Reader](/source/Chicago_Reader). Retrieved 2021-07-18.

## External links

- [Freakwater](http://www.freakwater.net)
- [Freakwater](https://www.bloodshotrecords.com/artist/freakwater) at [Bloodshot Records](/source/Bloodshot_Records)
- [Freakwater](http://thrilljockey.com/artists/freakwater) at [Thrill Jockey](/source/Thrill_Jockey)
- [Freakwater](http://www.grunnenrocks.nl/bands/f/freakwat.htm) at Grunnen Rocks

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Freakwater](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freakwater) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freakwater?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.