That’s the only way I can describe the chillingly odd voice of Jerry DeCicca, the singer for The Black Swans. The Black Swans borrow some of the Midwestern folk style with some extraordinary additions that make me say “Interesting.” The voice is like nothing I’ve heard. It’s not that it is so deep, it manages to be a bit nasally at the same time. There is a drawing out of words like Forrest Gump backed by the gritty smoke of Tom Waits. It comes across as a dust-breathing lumberjack who can bellow like Johnny Cash but has an airy flu of Bob Dylan with the vocal range of Louis Armstrong. I can mimic his singing easily enough, but I can’t get enough of the bizarre sound.

One of the members who violinned his way through the band is resting in peace. They are playing a show this October in their homestate of Ohio. Their lyrics are amuzingly awkword, yet crudely heartfelt.