New Video from Wolf People: "When The Fire is Dead in the Grate"

One of my favorite records of 2013 was the Wolf People's stirring, psychedelic folk/hard rock album Fain. It's pulling together English folk, blues-influenced guitar rock and hard boogie. Its expansiveness and musicianship first inspired awe, and on repeated listens it continued to deliver pure pleasure.

They've released a new video for the lengthy track "When The Fire is Dead In The Grate". According to vocalist Jack Sharp, “The video is meant as a B-Movie take on the Celtic mythology hinted in the lyrics. It sets out to capture one side of the song’s imagery as we see it. Shot on a beautiful morning in September on an incredible stretch of the Ouse just outside Bedford. It ended up as a great excuse to mess about on the river for a day and a night, ducking low-flying kingfishers (that we sadly failed to film) and trying to avoid getting the equipment wet.“



They released an EP following up the album in December - the lead track is "When the Fire is Dead" but it also features two new tracks, one an extension of one of Fain's standout tracks, "All Returns II":



Wolf People EP at Jagjaguwar

REVIEW: Left Lane Cruiser - Rock Them Back To Hell

Left Lane Cruiser is a duo playing heavy, dirty blues-rock. If that makes you think Black Keys, White Stripes, so much the better. They're definitely in that vein - substitute Ft. Wayne, IN for Akron, OH or Detroit, MI. On Rock Them Back To Hell, their latest album, they worked with the great Jim Diamond (Ghetto Recorders, Detroit MI: White Stripes, Dirtbombs, The Pack A.D., Ponys, etc etc etc).

What's the sound here? Well, look at the album cover - dirty, hillbilly zombies! Now look at this picture:

They're drinking 40s from paper bags! There's a clear message being sent here, and you will be awarded points for picking it up. The souls of old hard-drinking Southern bluesmen reside in these two young Indiana musicians, and these souls want to get out. Bad. They are going to make a hell of a racket on their way out, too.

Here's "Juice to Get Loose":



There's good slow blues here, too - "Coley" is one where they dial it back a bit, and it's got some pretty acoustic work. But the guitar playing on tracks like "Jukebox" and "Paralyze Ya" is incendiary, and there's no way you won't test the max volume of your speakers while listening to this album. It's not a headphone album, it's a "loud in the car" or "disturb the neighbors" kind of album. Thanks, as with so much good blues-rock, to the fine people at Alive/Naturalsound. Read more, check out tour dates and previous releases, and best of all, buy this thing at the links below.

Left Lane Cruiser Facebook
Alive/Naturalsound Records

Buffalo Killers - release extended edition of Ohio Grass EP

Cincinnati's Buffalo Killers are still playing their heavy psychedelic guitar (emphasis on guitar) rock, and on Ohio Grass they're better than ever. They swing from the heavy, foreboding rock of lead track "Baptized", with its guitar attack that builds slowly to an overwhelming crescendo, to the sweet, reggae-influenced "Golden Eagle", and it's all festival-worthy hard rock. Here's "Golden Eagle", with some Crazy Horse-style guitar over the last 2:00 of the track:



"Hold You Me" continues in the vein I thought marked a lot of their previous release Dig. Sow. Love. Grow. - a style that is pleasantly reminiscent of the easy, loping boogie of The James Gang.

This is an extended version of a 6-track Record Store Day vinyl-only release with four new songs added, including live versions of "Hey Girl", "Jon Jacob" and "Move On". As you might imagine, their live sound is notable, too, and features extended guitar solos... even more guitar to love. Get it from Alive/Naturalsound, or read more at their website. It was released last week (Aug. 20).

Buffalo Killers website
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Alive/Naturalsound Records

REVIEW: Don Cavalli - Temperamental

Don Cavalli is a French artist playing a combination of invigorating rock sounds on his second album, Temperamental. From psychedelic guitar rock to rockabilly to blues-rock to boogie, he travels far and wide in his quest to deliver an original sound. On the title track, I'm reminded of the spirit of joy that was present in Howlin' Wolf's best songs -- not to say he necessarily sounds like the Wolf, but there's something about his singing on this one that reminds me of the late great Chester Burnett.





This album is a most welcome combination of influences, tempos, styles and instrumental approaches - as unexpected as it is enjoyable. There's blues-influenced stuff like the title track, electro rock like “Santa Rita”, a bouncy R&B-influenced track like “Me and My Baby”, and some combinations that sound downright strange to my American ears: the rap and sitar combination featured in “Feel Not Welcome” and the banjo/Chinese rhythm of “The Greatest".



Most of the album is upbeat. Cavalli's clearly feeling pretty good, but he's not averse to delving into territory that sounds like it belongs in a Tarantino film on some of the stuff here: ‘Say Little Girl’ is a dialogue with Rosemary Standley, who warbles sweetly to offset Cavalli's guttural growl. The motorcycle tribute "Zundapp" must be heard to be believed - because why would you take my word for the fact that it is a combination of German motorik and American rockabilly?

I think this album is a fascinating trip into world music - both the influences rock and R&B have had throughout the world, and the influences that flow the other way. But on most of Temperamental, the sound rises above the level of mere influences or "soundalikes" to a level of bracing originality. I think Cavalli himself says it pretty well: “It sounds old, but not traditional. I do not follow; I just want to create my own thing.”

The album is out now (released Aug 13) on Everloving Records.

Don Cavalli at Everloving Records
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NEW SONG: Saint Rich - "Officer" from upcoming Beyond The Drone

Saint Rich is composed of Delicate Steve bandmates Steve Marion and Christian Peslak. They play a muscular, sort of psychedelic/boogie guitar rock with dense interplay between two leads. They'll have an album Beyond The Drone out in October in the US and Europe.

Here's a short video teaser:



And here's a preview track to stream - "Officer" - influences are pretty clearly (among other things) 70's Stones and T Rex... that's a very nice acoustic-into-electric break beginning about 2:45 in and building momentum toward some guitar pyrotechnics over the last part of the track. I'm looking forward to hearing more.



Saint Rich Facebook
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Saint Rich at Merge Records

REVIEW: Brown Bird - Fits Of Reason

Providence, RI's Brown Bird is playing a variety of folk rock that has a foot in the present and one in the past. There is plenty of acoustic playing and vocal harmonizing - in places, they could be a 30's string band that travelled forward in time. But there's also some very good rock instrumentation - the guitar riffing on "Barren Lakes" is reminiscent of Sonic Youth, to me.

It's a duo: guitarist/percussionist/singer/songwriter David Lamb and MorganEve Swain on violin, cello, upright bass, electric bass, vocals. Obviously, they each wear a lot of hats. Listening to the record and keeping in mind there are only two of them, you'll be impressed at the variety of sounds and the electric/acoustic interplay, and at the same time unsurprised at the tightness of the harmonies. Lamb does most of the singing, but Swain's voice is light and clear, and whether she's supplying a counterpoint to his ragged vocal style or taking the lead here and there, she's a terrific vocalist.

Here's lead track "Seven Hells", a perfect example of the way Lamb's baritone vocal and heavy guitar combine with Swain's bass and harmony vocals to create something exhilarating. I have seen Brown Bird compared to Tom Waits in a few places - this, to me, is the closest their music comes to resembling his:



And here's "Nine Eyes", which showcases the Eastern influences (while retaining the rock elements that, to me, help make Brown Bird so listenable):




The record is out next Tuesday (Apr. 2), and to support, they're going out on tour:

April 3     Northampton, MA     Parlor Room (2 shows)
April 4     Burlington, VT     Higher Ground
April 5     Providence, RI     The Met
April 6     Portsmouth, NH     The Press Room
April 9     New Haven, CT     Lily Pad's
April 10     Harrisburg, PA     Fed Live
April 11     Pittsburgh, PA     Club Cafe
April 12     Ann Arbor, MI     The Ark
April 13     Bloomington, IN     The Bishop
April 16     Charlottesville, VA     The Southern
April 17     Richmond, VA     Strange Matter
April 18      Asbury Park, NJ     The Saint
April 19     Boston, MA     Brighton Music Hall
April 20     Portland, ME     One Longfellow Square (2 shows)
April 28     Indio, CA     Stagecoach Festival
May 24     Yosemite, CA     Strawberry Festival
May 27     George, WA     Sasquatch Festival
June 2     Nelsonville, OH     Nelsonville Festival

It's good music and I think seeing them live would be fun, if for nothing else, to see the two of them produce all this sound while creating the basic rhythm with their feet!

Brown Bird Website

Brown Bird Facebook

New Blues-Rock Discovery (and free track): Nick And The Ovorols - Telegraph Taboo

Nick and the Ovorols is Nick Peraino (vocals, guitar), Carlos Showers (guitar), Vic Jackson (bass) and Lance Lewis (drums) and they are a smoking hot blues-rock band. On parts of Telegraph Taboo, I am fondly reminded of ZZ Top's Deguello - one of my favorite blues albums. And Peraino's very strong, expressive voice is a bit reminiscent of Warren Haynes'. In fact, if you're a fan of the blues-influenced rock of bands like Govt Mule and Haynes' latter-day work with the Allmans, you will do well to give this a try.

From the upbeat stuff like "Take the V Train" and "Chitown Via Greyhound" to the beautifully-played slow instrumental "Soundtrack to Life" with its twin guitar meanderings, the electric guitars (stinging lead or slide, or both) are at the center of the show... although the rhythm section of Jackson and Lewis have no trouble keeping up and even, on songs like "Honey Please", leading the way.

Nick's band is well-known in Chicago where they have been in residence at Kingston Mines and have shared the stage with folks like Buddy Guy, Sugar Blue and Taj Mahal. This is the first studio release from this band.

Here's a video of them performing the Tempts' "Shakey Ground" last year at House of Blues in Chicago:



(The Temptations original featured Eddie Hazel on lead guitar, so I give Nick extra points for great taste in guitar players.)

They're offering a free download of "Try Me" (click here to download or see Soundcloud below):

REVIEW: Various Artists - Alive At The Deep Blues Fest

We've been listening to these great Alive/Naturalsound artists all of 2012 - each album has its own pleasures, but what unites them, in my mind, are a joy in playing and the serious chops that are hallmarks of great blues and rock and roll.

Back in the summer, seven members of Alive's roster joined 19 other bands for a summer BBQ festival in Bayport, MN and the results were recorded and, fortunately, produced into an album by Jim Diamond. Here's the tracklist:

River Water - Buffalo Killers  
It's a Shame - Buffalo Killers  
There is a Bomb in Gilead - Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires
The Red, Red Dirt of Home - Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires
Traveling - Brian Olive  
Bonelle - Brian Olive  
Hold On Me - Radio Moscow  
Little Eyes - Radio Moscow  
24 Hour Blues - Left Lane Cruiser  
Rambling on My Mind - Left Lane Cruiser  
Three More - John The Conqueror  
Be your own Invention/Stranger Dig - Henry's Funeral Shoe
Henry's Funeral Shoe - Henry's Funeral Shoe

From the psychedelia of Buffalo Killers (expansive, sweet-sounding) and Radio Moscow (heavy, raging), to Bains' roaring gospel/blues-based Southern rock, to Olive's mix of blues and sweet SoCal pop, Alive embraces variety. Here's Brian Olive:



Left Lane Cruiser, John The Conqueror and Henry's Funeral Shoe are playing hard blues, and it really shines through in a live setting. Here is the Welsh brother duo Henry's Funeral Shoe:

This is a record that happily does double duty: It's a great document of what sounds like one of the best summer music festivals I've ever heard of, but it's also a really good label sampler. If you're still looking for a way to spend that iTunes or Amazon gift card, this record is a good option, and it will open up seven other worthy possibilities...

Here is a free download of a live version of The Buffalo Killers' "It's A Shame" from the Fest:

Merry Christmas From The Buffalo Killers and the Bohannons!

Christmas is almost here, and we have a few presents for you!

Check out this heavy, psychedelic cover of Chuck Berry's "Run Run Rudolph" by Cincinnati's Buffalo Killers:



And this cover of the old Beatles' fan-club-only 1967 song "Christmas Time":



They are happy for you to have these songs free of charge, in the spirit of the season.

And here, also available for free download, is a new song by Chattanooga's The Bohannons, "Christmas in Vietnam":



Here at the end of 2012, I want to give a special salute to the Buffalo Killers, whose 2012 release Dig. Sow. Love. Grow. was reviewed here, and to the Bohannons, whose Unaka Rising was reviewed here. If you're looking for fierce blues-based rock music, these are two artists you ought to spend some time with as you look to spend the iTunes gift card or (hopefully) Grimey's (or other local music retailer's) gift certificate you will receive next week.

It is possible both will be featured on a WYMA Blog Best of 2012 list, coming the week of Jan. 1...

Free download and tour info - The Bohannons "River Above"

To further entice the undecided, I suppose, Chattanooga's powerful Southern rockers The Bohannons have a gift for you:



And if you're in the South, you're in luck. They'll be traversing their home state and working their way back via Arkansas and Georgia in November:

Oct. 27 The Honest Pint - Chattanooga, TN
Nov. 2 The 5 Spot - Nashville, TN w/ Shane Tutmarc, Little Bandit
Nov. 3 Maxine’s - Hot Springs National Park, AR  w/ LUCERO
Nov. 6 Smith's Olde Bar - Atlanta, GA
Nov. 7 New Earth Music Hall - Athens, GA w/ Lord Baltimore
Nov. 8 Radio Room - Greenville, SC
Nov. 9 The Wormhole - Savannah, GA
Nov. 10 Hummingbird Stage & Taproom - Macon, GA

In case you missed it, here's our rave review.

Out now on This Is American Music.

REVIEW: Bob Dylan - Tempest

Bob Dylan, perhaps you've heard of him?

Tempest, Dylan's 35th studio album, is a dense, compelling work that is going to take many listens to fully unravel. What could drive a man to make edgy, tough-to-categorize music 50 years into his career? Who knows, but we are damn lucky to be here to experience it.

Dylan resides in his own musical space, one where the rock'n'roll of the past 50 years, including his own, doesn't exist. Instead Dylan plays with the building blocks of rock'n'roll - the blues, jazz, folk and string bands of the '20's, '30's and '40's. But Dylan's Americana is not rooted in rosy nostalgia, and instead lurks within the dark underbelly, the margins, the hard times.

Take the title track for example, a rambling 11 minute retelling of the sinking of the Titanic, a story so rich with images of horror, avarice, class warfare. Or the one nod to the rock'n'roll era - "Roll On, John", an ode to the only real musical peer Dylan ever had, his friend John Lennon. In both cases, great seemingly undefeatable forces of progress come to a bad and violent end - a loss of life, innocence and greatness.

Is this all a commentary on modern America?

Another song "Early Roman Kings" suggests the fall of a great empire from greed and corrupt leadership. One line in that song is particularly hard to ignore: "I ain't dead yet, but my bell still rings."

That may be the only thing that need be said about Tempest. Bob Dylan's bell still rings. He is making new and compelling music. He is making it strictly on his own terms.  And there's an undeniable groove and swing to this stuff that makes me want to listen to it all night long. Check out "Duquesne Whistle":

Special kudos to my friend Scott Litt who engineered this record and gets just the right sound.

Tempest will be available in stores on September 11 and can be streamed now in its entirety on iTunes. It's dark and weird and wonderful and you should buy it. Tempest

Brian Olive - new video and free download from Two Of Everything

Brian Olive, former Greenhorne, has released one of my favorite records of 2012: Two Of Everything. Olive has rightly become very well-known this year: he's a multi-instrumentalist who worked with Dan Auerbach on Dr. John's latest record, and Two Of Everything is meeting with nearly universal approval (if not ecstasy). I'll just go ahead and add my voice to the chorus of praise.

From the funky, hard-rocking groove of opener "Left Side Rock" (free download available - click here), to the hypnotic electric piano and flutes of "Go On Easy" to the Motown rhythm section and horns fronting Lennonesque vocals on "You Can't Hide It"... the common elements are an explosion of talent and an amazing facility with different styles, tempos and genres. Everything on this record - the rhythms, the guitars, the horn sections - is well done, and Olive's vocals are certainly up to the task of carrying such a big-sounding record.

Here's a video for "Left Side Rock":



In a way, though I wouldn't call this a rehash or even particularly "retro", I'm reminded of two old records: Rick Danko and Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue. And you would say, those two don't sound much alike, and I would agree but still say those are the ones Two Of Everything reminds me of. Both are subtle masterpieces arising out of the totality of their creators' musical journey, that forced us to look at them a little bit differently. The same thing is probably true here, although I must admit that, other than kind of enjoying the Greenhornes' sound, I was largely unaware of Olive's work before this record. Happily, that is no longer the case. Highly recommended, and available via Alive/Naturalsound Records. Alive/Naturalsound makes our world a better place.

Upcoming Brian Olive tour dates, with more to come:

8/22 Cleveland, OH - Happy Dog
8/23 Toronto, ON - Silver Dollar Room
8/24 Montreal, QC - La Divan Orange
8/25 Quebec City, QC - Le Circle
8/26 New Haven, CT - Cafe Nine
8/27 Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall
8/28 Boston, MA - O'Brien's
8/29 Pittsburgh, PA - Gooski's Bar
8/31 Louisville, KY - Zazoo's
[September West Coast Tour dates to be announced soon]

New Spanish Blues-Rock/Boogie Discovery: Betunizer - Boogalizer

On Boogalizer by Spanish band Betunizer, the title is something of a declaration of purpose. They certainly do boogie. I'm reminded of The Minutemen and the Pixies, or going a little further back, maybe Captain Beefheart. Then again, there's that swing, the boogie - in the opening cut, "Cedric Ceballos" the drummer is definitely leading the way while the guitar slashes and the singer rages... and cowbell! On song two, "Silver Agers", it starts out very much like vintage Minutemen, especially as to the guitar intro.

Here's song three, "Imagina que matas a jota":

Here's a video of them backing Daniel Johnston on "Speeding Motorcycle":

And here's another live video of them performing "Rave en el chateau":

Betunizer is really good at keeping the beat. Perhaps that is the literal translation of "Boogalizer", a word I am unable to locate in any dictionary.

Check it out at BCore Disc.