According to bandleader, Kevin Orton: "It's all just Folk music really...Maybe aggressive Folk but Folk music at heart...I tend to write songs about people who are un-insured". The Maledictions have their roots in Orton's 2003 solo album, Femme Noir, which featured a number of guest artists including The Violent Femmes' Gordon Gano. Soon after, Orton formed The Maledictions and 2005 saw the release of Idle Hands. Both Idle Hands and Orton's solo album, Femme Noir are available on cdbaby in addition to the Back In the Swing ep and various singles. "Nick Cave meets Johnny Cash" -The Cincinnati Enquirer "Mournful songs (which mix the moods and textures of Leonard Cohen, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits and Nick Cave)" - St. Louis Magazine "With Their Appalachian echoes & imaginative new lyrics, Orton's songs reach straight for the audience" -St. Louis Post Dispatch "Jars you to the strangeness of this American landscape...Deserted fairgrounds, unlit country roads, sawdust floored barrooms, vandalized cemeteries and overstayed debutante balls...Born of inner necessity" -Amazon.com "Melodies that cross numerous genres ranging from country to rock to cabaret... lovely Faulkneresque stories set to music". -cdbaby.com "A dark & original slice of Americana" -apple i-tunes