Born and bred in New York City, Erik Della Penna and Dean Sharenow perform as the drum/dobro duo KILL HENRY SUGAR, creating modern folk music from the roots of Gotham. The two met performing around town and discovered a shared fascination with the city's corrupt beginnings and the frenzied ambition of its inhabitants. Kill Henry Sugar became the minimalist, streamlined vehicle for this ongoing discourse; think "Gangs Of New York" (the book, not the movie) meets "Metropolis" (the movie, not the book).

Much of the material for their latest release, Swing Back And Down, was inspired by the epic timeline of life in the boroughs. Recording took place in the basement of Della Penna's grandmother's Bronx apartment, among silver gelatin prints of generations past. The songs are snapshots of New York life painted in stark, vivid tones — the cunning corruption of Tammany Hall politics; the muted spirit of the huddled masses; the power and paranoia of the modern metropolis.

An early copy of the CD impressed folk icon Joan Baez, and she was inspired to add two of the songs to her distinguished repertoire. Soon after, Ms. Baez saw the pair perform, and Kill Henry Sugar was asked to be the backing band for her 2007 European tour. They will join her again in spring 2008 for a series of US dates.

Swing Back And Down is the pair's fourth full-length release. It is out now on Surprise Truck Entertainment. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.