When one has a “traditional” band comprised of two people, and only 4 hands, it is quite difficult to consistently produce quality songs. This proves even truer within the genre of blues-rock. The sound must be creatively cared for so as not to become repetitively thin, and/or dull to the ears-and-mind. The Black Keys are no novices to this particular challenge, and in their new album “Brothers” we find their 6^thmusical attempt at this difficult test.

“Brothers” starts off with one of the best tracks of the album (which contains a lengthy 15 tracks), Everlasting Light. It is an introduction to the overall sound of the album; a gritty, low-end heavy version of blues-rock in which the drums often take a back seat to the forward moving bass/guitar. The low-end is such that at times one can’t tell if they are listening to bass or an effected guitar. When you can differentiate the two the guitar still leans towards to low-end, and the bass at times sounds like it was DI’ed (not mic’ed from the amp), resulting in a wide, heavy, but oddly in-dynamic low end.

Now aggresive-blues-rock isn’t anything novel for this band, but “Brothers” differs from those before in the way it uses the relationship between drums and guitar/bass. At times in this album it is as if the guitar has mutinied – in addition to becoming sonorously deep – and plunges forward to declare itself the leader. It is songs such as Next Girl, Sinister Kid, and The Go Getter in which this approach works best and produces truly fun songs that contian great movement.

The vocals or supplemental sounds (such as organ, or layered guitar or bass) on this album seem to move forward also, but don’t always choose to supplement the guitar, instead they just seem to move in a similar direction while the drums hold the middle ground. So in the end we find a more stilted, gravelly, atypical blues-rock sound. Tighten Up is a song that displays this quickly punctuated bluesy style well, and is also smartly fortified with a pleasantly rolling breakdown and delightful peripheral sounds.

And while this stilted, gritty blues sound is prevalent throughout the album there are also a couple tracks in which The Black Keys revert to their tried-and-true method of creating catchy, rhythmic, drum+guitar riffs and beats. On Howlin’ for You we find a toe-tapping, head-shaking song that revolves around an unchanging drum beat and a more traditionally emotive guitar. It is classic Black Keys, and it’s one of the albums best.

But then there are other tracks that don’t come off as successful. She’s Long Gone, Black Mud,  Too Afraid to Love You, and Ten Cent Pistol are examples of how easy it is to hit the creative ceiling with two musicians, and we find ourselves with blues-rock that unfortunately comes off as slightly vapid and stock-sounding.

Overall “Brothers” is an album that is best described as a mixed bag. There are indeed quality tracks that showcase The Black Keys ability to push the creative envelope of minimalist blues-rock. Yet, the album probably could have been reduced to 10 songs – as opposed to 15 – focusing more on the novel sounds of this album and cutting the fat of their more “normal” blues-rock numbers. Also, the soulful-swing present in their previous album, “Attack and Release” could probably have been brought in to good effect on a few tracks.

However, for just 2 guys playing the blues, I don’t know if anyone else could continually make such interesting, varying, and successful approaches to what is arguably the most static genre that exists. So while, for The Black Keys, it may be a “good-not-great album”, for the contemporary blues fan, it is still an album worth digesting.

By Sean Brna

Reservoir is the newest full-length release from the Chicago band Great Divide. If one desired to generalize the their type of music it could be deemed ‘roots music’, because they seem to amalgamate blues, rock, soul, R & B and funk into something all their own.

The band consists of 7 musicians, so they have no lack of sonic potential. Yet this album’s sound is very crisp & clean, as they employ little effects or reverb and give each of their instruments proper space from each other. They like to play dynamic & toe-tapping blues-rock that takes much from R & B and southern-funk, often infusing their music with that coveted Creole ‘side-step’ groove. In addition they also play few “traditional” blues numbers. In these they seem to focus on slowly building their energy towards the end of the song, really letting their instruments wail in the mean time, before they move together en route to stylish crescendos.

They kick off the album with one of their best, the song Waiting. Here we encounter that energetic funky-blues-rock. The emotive guitar says Chicago, the voice says Nashville, and the rhythm section/horn interaction says New Orleans. And it works. For Fleetwood, another album highlight, we find an upbeat number that transitions from funky R & B to subdued soul and back again, before a great reggae breakdown replete with witty and fun brass involvement. It is clear that song progression is a focus, and a talent, of this band. The average song length is close to 5 minutes, but usually they don’t ever sound the same throughout as they rely on distinct and clear progression/alteration to keep things fresh.

Another song off Reservoir that showcases their talents, and actually counters their usual use of song progression, is Rainy Bethea Blues. This one is more of a straight through Chicago blues number with a fantastic dancing piano and walking rhythm line. On this song we can really hear the lead-singer, Teddy, show off his pipes. They don’t try to re-invent the wheel with this song, its nothing new – just damn good blues music.

Teddy’s voice fits his band’s sound well. It sounds, at times, like a younger and thinner John Popper. It is clean sounding naturally, but he has the ability to get highly emotive and raspy – without sounding too trained or strained.

But what really makes the album even more-so, is the way in which they use their varied instruments. The brass and guitars are the emotional expressers, sometimes in call-and-response, sometimes in tandem, or in contrast. But they are always supplementing each other positively and improving the musical communication of the songs – letting Teddy tell the story (which is what a good blues vocalist does). What also adds positively to the sound is their attention to detail, specifically in always separating their two guitarists – one of whom usually played more yowling sounds while the other kept it more straightforward and “solo-like” – always keeping one completely in the left channel and the other in the right channel.

Giving each instrument a place in the stereo field gave the resulting music a wonderfully uncluttered feeling, even with 7 musicians. This actually is a good description for the album in general; even though there is blending of many genres, with numerous musicians, the result is a nuanced – yet somehow relatively minimal and crisp – collection of roots music songs (let’s just hope the next time they delve into more reggae, as this author really enjoyed the reggae switch-ups in both Fleetwood and in Waters Roll In). Nevertheless, if you are into roots-music, soul, rock or the blues then consider adding Great Divide’s Reservoir to your musical repertoire.

by Sean Brna

seanbrna@gmail.com

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Train Company was the first act of three, behind 28 North and Blues Traveler, this past Thursday night at Chicago’s House Of Blues. Many artists might not like it when they are the ones chosen to be the first band on the bill – not Train Company. As their lead signer John Zozarro explained, they “sincerely appreciate the opportunity (and task), of setting the mood for the night, of lifting the tone.”

Well, mission accomplished, set the mood they did. Train Company played a brand of rock that is highly influenced by the blues and jazz. That is a vague description at best, and is one that could be applied to many bands. Yet Train Company’s uniqueness lies in how they amalgamate these genres into their style of rock in such a seamless manner.

Train Company is comprised of 5 Chicagoans, containing one keyboardist and one saxophonist. The additions of these instruments allows them the ability to have the aforesaid blues and jazz undertones present in their music (more times blues than jazz, they are from Chicago), without ever overtly stepping into blues or jazz. On stage it was apparent that as a band, they can really ‘walk together in step’. They are emotionally in sync, all the subtle ebbs and flows are executed in synchronization. This can be accomplished through relentless practicing, sure, but their musical-emotion-congruity came off as a natural occurrence – a product of the musicians really enjoying their music and playing with each other.

On this night it was the songs Leaving and Change in which one could really hear them at their best. Leaving had a fantastic sauntering bass line that was placed within what is a highly energetic blues-rock song; it created for a song with a rock n’ roll drive –yet with a bluesy philosophy. It was also deceptively dynamic as towards the end it even took on a slight jam band groove. Change had more of a funky, slightly R & B flavor to its blues-rock base. There were ear-catching harmonies and a classy, well-executed crescendo.

For this author though, their talent shone through best on their song, Conquistador, which is a smooth and subdued blues number with great sax highlights. And while the rhythm was simple and all 5 musicians were playing, it still held onto a pleasant minimalist sound. And then near the end as the energy picked up momentarily a Hendrix blues riff was discreetly brought into the song, played with briefly, and let go before most people could notice it. It felt like a short-lived inside joke that only the most thorough of rock fans in the audience perceived, and undoubtedly enjoyed.

In their own words Train Company’s philosophy is to play a “new kind of old,” they “like to play the same story, but told a different way.” But there in lies the art of skillfully playing blues-rock; it’s not about being revolutionary, it’s about infusing your unique emotions, outlook or story into established musical frameworks. This is what Train Company understands, and in doing so they definitely set the right mood for the evening, just as they wanted to.

By Sean Brna

Seanbrna@gmail.com

For some peculiar reason it was quite vacant when The Willowz took to the stage this past Thursday evening. Playing at the Double Door, a renowned place to nightly catch good music in Chicago, this seemed an odd occurrence. The weather wasn’t to blame, so it must have been that two other very popular indie-rock bands were playing in Chicago that same night, an unfortunate circumstance for this Californian band just stopping in for the night.

The Willowz are a four-piece band that play what could be considered an contemporary indie version of quasi-southern, blues-based classic rock, although one can also sense a slight punk influence at times. One of the first things this author noticed was their drummer (Loren Humphrey), both because he employed two floor toms – giving their sound extra ‘pounding potential’ – and because with his long hair coupled with an energetic style of play one couldn’t help but be reminded of Animal from the Muppets (who, as we all remember, also played drums).

After taking in the manner in which they played their first few songs it seems that this band has an almost Lynard Skynard feel to their sound, yet with an avid focus on each musician being in perfect emotional time with each other. This means they would add emphasis, deduct energy, or even pause momentarily in perfect syncopation. Also, they use dynamic progression within the course of many of their songs, all the while seemingly staying rooted in the fundamentals of rock n’ roll. This author thought this made them come off as a band with an almost British rock-song sensibility when it comes the writing, which was then coupled with a purely American sound once played.

Richie Follin is the lead singer and he furnishes his band with a very distinct sound. His voice is withdrawn and narrow but full of vigor. It’s almost like a young, excited and more punk’ish version of Neil Young’s voice. It’s one thing that helps to make them distinctly indie. However, it would have helped on this night had the vocals been louder and one been able to discern the words being sung. This is a lesser point with this band than others though, because The Willowz seem to use their vocals more as an instrumental/emotional addition as opposed to a storytelling/explanatory tool within their music.

The Willowz were at their best on such songs as Repetition, Making Certain and Evil Son when they incorporate a good amount of dynamisms within their song progression. Furthermore, they seem to have a superior control over the ability to musically start-and-stop in unison, using momentary silence or a quick reversion to a minimalist sound as a powerful musical tool. Like few other bands I have seen, they have mastered the art of using abruptness to their musical advantage.

Another manner of rock-song The Willowz seem to have a grasp of is that of concise blues-rock songs. Their opener I Know off their most recent album, and the two subsequent songs were great examples of this. In these songs progressive modification wasn’t employed as much, instead they delivered solid blues-rock songs in which this band sat perfectly in the proverbial “pocket”. And best of all they knew when to end these songs, keeping them under 3 min, leaving the audience wanting more before the sound became repetitive.

Where The Willowz were less successful was in a few songs in the middle of their set that didn’t have enough transition within them and then just ran a little long – becoming slightly tiresome to the ears. When they kept to a consistent sound throughout an entire, longer song, it felt like they were getting away from what they do best and their sound was endowed with less of a true rock feel. This author also felt they should have played more than just one song off their album Chautaqua, which might be their best release to date. In addition, using their great lady-bassist (Jessica Reynoza) as a back-up vocalist is something that should be added to more songs, especially when playing live.

Nevertheless, The Willowz overall played a great show with much more energy and gusto than paltry crowds usually receive. It is not easy to get excited and play almost the same music nightly, let alone when you don’t have any audience energy to feed off of. Kudos to them for still providing for a rockin’ good time to the handful of fans in attendance. So if you are a fan of good ole’ rock n’ roll, then please join this author the next time The Willowz grace a Chicago stage – because they deserve your attention and maybe the next time we can earn an encore out of them!

By Sean Brna

Seanbrna@gmail.com

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Since this blog is indeed one that leans towards the realms of Bluegrass and Blues (for some reason that cannot be recalled) it is only fitting that we discuss the emergence of The Heartless Bastards; a band that encapsulates both genres yet goes beyond them as well. Their 2009 release of “The Mountain” is a great example of this generic synergism, yet so well crafted that one who would proclaim to fancy neither blues nor bluegrass could still easily fall in love with this album without a second thought. That is because this band seems to be practiced and blessed with a touch of the spirit of timeless rock n’ roll, impeccable timing, and an excellent, balanced style of recording that seems to understand that it’s okay not to turn all the amps up to 11.

The band hails from Dayton, Ohio and is headed by guitarist and lead vocalist-rock queen-Erika Wennerstrom. She is supported by drummer Dave Colvin and bassist Jesse Ebaugh. The three piece has released two albums prior to The Mountain; in 2005 they introduced themselves with Stairs and Elevators and in 06′ brought us All This Time. Both of those albums, by the way, are wonderful works worthy of your attention (All This Time is especially kick-ass, but I wander…). The Mountain, however, sets itself apart by what I feel is a palpable maturity of song writing, where the tracks choose not to challenge your ear with complexity but with a heavy, thick, meditated, yet overall talented sense of rock composition. 

This album was recorded in Austin, with producer Mike McCarthy, who is well known for helping to make Spoon one of the preeminent bands around today. This might be the reason why the drums are so pleasantly driving and toe-tapping throughout the album without ever being over-bearing (just as on those great spoon LPs). Ringo Starr always said that one should play the drums for-and-to the vocalist, this forgotten recording method is employed by The Bastards masterfully within this album.

But what gives this band, and indeed this album, its staying power is the way they smoothly present and combine generic shifts. The opening track, The Mountain, shows us The Bastards straight up rock skills with a great quasi-psychedelic rock song that has Erika singing in a manner a la Grace Slick and Jefferson Airplane. (There is a background guitar sound in that track that is engineered/placed so well that it sounded like it was coming from a separate speaker placed 6 feet behind my stereo!) Yet the very next track, Could Be So Happy, is just an almost folky interplay between only a guitar and the vocalist. Yet it is a beautifully written song that will have you mesmerized on the presented human voice. Then right away they break into, Early In The Morning, a louder rock n’ roll foot-tapper that praises the electric guitar while never forgetting the intricate balance of energy between the drums and the vocals. Then on the track, Had To Go, we are laid witness to a truly bluegrass expression with an initial amazing display of american-roots vocals (both in the writing and presentation) that slowly decays into solely instrumentation with a bewtiching fiddle and guitar interaction that makes one want to close their eyes and float down a slow moving river.

Balance is maybe a defining term for this album, which is why I believe many people will enjoy it; for one can hear in it what they would like to. Is that blues based or bluegrass? Is that more rock n’ roll or is that psychedelic? Is that track, Hold Your Head High, a slow dance or a climaxing rock ballad? 

All in all I put forth that The Mountain by The Heartless Bastards is not only one of the best albums of 2009 but is one of the best expressions of a balanced, non-overdriven, yet undoubtedly rock recordings I have heard in a while. One qualm I do have is that they seemed to have employed a compressor or effect that gives the voice a slightly crackling sound upon moments of higher emphasis (maybe to obtain a slightly retro sound I am not sure). Yet while when listening on vinyl this effect is usually subtle it is still a little much, this is shown mostly on the otherwise pleasant bluegrass song, So Quiet. Yet the effect’s, at times, harshness doesn’t translate well when listening to little headphones from an MP3. This effect notwithstanding, The Mountain is a wonderfully produced medley of blues, bluegrass, and quasi-psychedelic rock n’ roll that is sure to put The Heartless Bastards on the proverbial map. This author’s suggestion; check this album out now, preferably on vinyl!

By Sean Poynton Brna

Check it out. The planet is arriving at it’s 6th extinction. This time it it isnt Dinasaurs. It’s us, the human species. Our dirty filthy minds transcend our waste into our clean water. On top of it, plastic, our own demise, is a huge contamination of our only legit water source. Besides the natural springs, of course. But companies are stealing it out of nature. Dirty, greedy corporations are mass sucking our fresh water source to sell it right back to us in bottled water form. Bottled water is LESS regulated than our public water system. Stop drinking bottled water, it’s taking away from our fresh water system.