“…if you need a bit of growly lo-fi blues & grumbling to set you on your way and you are looking for something new then, frankly, you’re reading the right article.”
“…if you need a bit of growly lo-fi blues & grumbling to set you on your way and you are looking for something new then, frankly, you’re reading the right article.”
Judge Bone & Doc Hill – Big Bear’s Gate
http://www.konkurrent.nl/ http://www.bbisland.de/ http://www.bonvoyagerecordings.com/
There’s foot-stompin’ aplenty in this magnificent set from Judge Bone; if you need a bit of growly lo-fi blues & grumbling to set you on your way and you are looking for something new then, frankly, you’re reading the right article. Big Bear’s Gate is a somewhat maudlin starter, lulling you into a false sense of security, until You Hate Me and My Stetson Hat sort things out good and proper. Do the Hoodang is the pick of the opening tracks, with its menacing guitar run and sub-Beefheartian vibe.
Elsewhere, Ramona stumbles around wallowing in regret and fuzzy guitar and 15000 Heads has a Tom Waits feel to it with its scuzzy pontificating. Train, Train, Train is almost in rockabilly territory, the weight of the guitar sound just about saves it. Fare Thee Well has to be the pick of the tracks; its slippery riff underpins a strange tale of drinking and love. There are a number of maudlin, low key laments, such as Buffalo’s Bone and Seventeen and in Misery, and Say You Love Me Baby but they serve admirably, balancing out a great set.
Invigorating stuff indeed.
Words: Richard Foster