Southern Rock

Cirkus Prütz, Blues Revolution (Metalville 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

Swedish blues rock band Cirkus Prütz take you for a ride on their new album, Blues Revolution.

I do not think of bands from Sweden first when I am tabulating a mental list of blues rock acts, but after hearing Cirkus Prütz I might have to recalibrate. Blues Revolution is their third album, following All For The Boogie And The Blues (2017) and White Jazz – Black Magic (2019). You’ll hear a variety of music on the record in the fertile lane of southern-influenced blues rock. The more I listen to it, I hear a strong influence of classic rock like Deep Purple in there too, but maybe that is just me. Whatever comparisons anybody wants to make, their music is great to hear. The band is Christian Carlsson (vocals, guitar, harp), Franco Santunione (guitar, vocals), Jerry Prütz (bass, vocals), and Per Kohlus (drums).

The title track starts the set off with a big build-up and a singalong jam, kind of like “Space Truckin’,” but smoother. It is a hard rock pop angle aimed at broad appeal. The guitar solo that comes along is very nice, and it is the part I like best. When I first started listening to this kind of music in the 1980s it was the lead breaks I would always anticipate. “Boogie Woogie Man” puts that guitar right up front with a tasty lick that is a welcome invitation. The singer here is channeling Danny Joe Brown a bit and the song is an excellent bluesy southern rock number. “Modern Day Gentleman” tips its hat to ZZ Top with smooth vocals and a biting lead guitar.

The tempo slows down and picks up as you wind your way through the ten tracks on the album. Each one is well produced with a polished sound. I especially like “Howl Like the Wolf” which has a real get-up-and-go vibe to it, and “Death Knock Blues” because it reminds me of the Ian Gillan songs I like best. I am getting the feeling Cirkus Prütz will put on a good show, and, based on what I have heard here, I would really like to see them live. Recommended.

Blues Revolution is out on Friday July 29th through Metalville Records.

Links.

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/cirkusprytz

Metalville Records, https://www.metalville.de/

© Wayne Edwards

Cirkus Prütz, Blues Revolution (Metalville 2022)

Muddy Moonshine, Are We There Yet (Secret Entertainment 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

Swamp rockers from Finland, Muddy Moonshine, release their sophomore album, Are We There Yet.

You read that right: swamp rockers from Finland. Are there swamps in Finland? Absolutely, but of course that has nothing to do with the actual music. The style appealed to the originators of the band and they decided to go with it. The result is very impressive, bluesy, guitar-driven rock that is uncommonly listenable. The band is Tuomo Varjola (vocals), Jonne Rytkönen (guitar), Saku Manninen (drums), Jarmo Ikala (guitar), and Kim Sandström (bass).

There are thirteen tracks on the new album. “Under The Moon” is the first song, and it verily seeps swamp gas and drips Spanish moss. It has the pleasant, lay-about twang often associated with the declared musical type. The next song is “Crystal Riders” and it is very different, carrying more of a radio mentality, with pushing rhythm and a catchy chorus. It almost puts you in mind of D.A.D. here and there. “Sold Out” made me think of early 70s Nazareth with its brightness and voracity. It is one of my favorites on the album – it has a great hook and drive.

And there is more. “Corn Whiskey A Go” lays on the southern rock harmonies and “Distilled In Bayou” is essentially a power ballad. “Charm Of Drinking Hard” is a rambler with an undeniable bass and a tasty lead break. Songs like “One More Time” are just straight-up party tunes that put you in the mood and keep you going. There is a lot of good music here, put down in familiar rock styles and performed with the consent of genuine earnestness. Recommended.

Are We There Yet drops on Friday, March 18th through Secret Entertainment. Snap it up at Bandcamp.

Band photo by Emma Manninen.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://muddymoonshine.bandcamp.com/

Muddy Moonshine website, http://www.muddymoonshine.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/officialmoonshine

Inverse Records, https://www.inverse.fi/

© Wayne Edwards. All rights reserved.

Muddy Moonshine, Are We There Yet (Secret Entertainment 2022)

The Electric Mud, Black Wool (2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , ,

The new EP from The Electric Mud shows how the old and the new can come together the make something even better.

I first heard The Electric Mud last when I was reviewing their album Burn The Ships (2020). That was a good one, and it made me want to listen to their first album too – another winner, Bull Gator (2018). I have been on high alert for anything new from these bluesy Florida stoners ever since and now here it is, Black Wool.

There are two new songs on the EP and two covers. The new ones are “Ordinary Men” and “Black Wool.” The former is a radio-length churner that carries their signature sound on in a logical procession with a peppy, rolling riff and effusive vocals. The title track is more measured and twice as long; settled in for a steady heavy session. It is a great pairing, the short runner with the long-haul heavy.

The covers are Corrosion of Conformity’s “Albatross” and the Allman Brothers Band’s “Whipping Post.” That COC song is one of my all-time favorite pieces of music I have ever heard, so to hear such an excellent cover of it put a big smile on my face. “Whipping Post” has been widely covered by Southern Rock bands and even acts like Frank Zappa. It is an iconic piece. The version The Electric Mud has crafted for this EP is exceptional in its depth and completeness. It is certainly one the very best I have heard, after the original.

You can never go wrong with this band. Go get you some Black Wool from The Electric Mud. Recommended.

You can have Black Wool on Friday, September 25th. Grab the digital album at Bandcamp.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://theelectricmudofficial.bandcamp.com/album/black-wool-ep

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/TheElectricMud

The Electric Mud website, https://www.theelectricmud.com/

FFMB review of Burn The Ships, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2020/09/21/the-electric-mud-burn-the-ships-review-small-stone-records-2020/

The Electric Mud, Black Wool (2021)

The Electric Mud, Burn The Ships review (Small Stone Records 2020)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , ,

Florida Heavy Blues instigators The Electric Mud return with more high voltage swamp metal on Burn The Ships.

The debut album of The Electric Mud came out two years ago, Bull Gator. It is bluesy, guitar-driven Southern stoner rock. Listening to it does bring up thoughts of that first Molly Hatchet album, but The Electric Mud is heavier and presses the lurking power of their music harder. The title track tells us “I’m the mighty jaws of an ancient god,” and a little later in the same song, “I’m the crooked old hand of death itself.” The songs are smooth and muscular. A very impressive debut.

The band is Constantine Grim (guitar), Pierson Whicker (drums), Peter Kolter (vocals and guitar), and Tommy Scott (bass). All four are from Florida, and have an abiding respect for the rock music tradition from the South (Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the like) as well as the classic metal roots of icons like the origin band, Black Sabbath. Their music is not a simple combination of latent elements of famous bands, however. They have taken their influences and inspirations and melded them with their abilities and art to fashion a lasting instrument of collective resonance.

The new album cranks up the speed and depth a notch, creating an even bigger wake than the earlier release. “The First Murder On Mars” is the opener (and the single you can hear now). It starts the set out fast and sharp, with stabbing guitars and crisp drumming. “Stone Hands” switches to a heavier hammer, and “Reptile” swings them both at the same time. “A Greater Evil” is a the cool evening breeze that blows through your open car window  and then darkens as the sun goes down. The triplet of “Call The Judge,” “Priestess,” and “Good Monster” is thirteen minutes of trouncing bliss – it takes you away from whatever was in your head before. I keep hitting these three over and over. “Ledbelly” is an amazing display of percussion, and “Terrestrial Birds” starts out as a lullaby until the guitar starts singing the blues and telling you a story that won’t let you sleep. This in an incredible album that will reach across to a wide array of heavy music fans. Highly recommended.

Burn The Ships CDs, vinyl, and downloads are available from Small Stone Records through Bandcamp (and elsewhere) beginning this Friday, September 25. You know how it works: the download is there forever but the hardcopies can go fast, especially the vinyl. Listen to Bull Gator on Spotify now. If you like it, consider a preorder if you want some of that orange vinyl.

Links.

http://www.theelectricmud.com

https://theelectricmud1.bandcamp.com/releases

http://www.facebook.com/TheElectricMud

http://www.smallstone.com

http://www.facebook.com/smallstonerecords

https://smallstone.bandcamp.com/album/burn-the-ships

The Electric Mud, Burn The Ships review (Small Stone Records 2020)

Pimmit Hills, Heathens & Prophets review (2020)

Wayne Edwards, , ,

The members of King Giant changed the band’s name to Pimmit Hills after David Kolwalski left in 2017. The first release from the newly-named band is an EP titled Heathens & Prophets.

Under the earlier name, the band released three full-length albums, an EP and a demo. That is a lot of music, and an impressive legacy for King Giant. The current band is David Hammerly (vocals), Keith Brooks (drums), Todd Ingram (guitar), and Floyd Lee Walters III (bass). They are playing a bluesy Southern Rock with a Desert Rock mysticism and melancholy. I’ve read them compared to early ZZ Top and there is a hint of that fuzz in there, but the music of Pimmit Hills is darker and more serious – and there is a clear difference between the local flavor of guitar-heavy music in Texas and in Virginia. Compared to King Giant, the new music is consistent with the earlier work but more earthy, I’d say.

Heathens & Prophets might technically be an EP but with four 7-minute songs it’s a full meal. A crisp solo guitar lick cracks the set open with “Baby Blue Eyes.” Hammerly’s husky voice puts a precise picture in your head of the story he tells: “You look at me with sadness / I look at you with regret.” O man, that’s a punch in the gut. “Ginger” fades in on a peppy drum beat and growing guitar feedback to set up a song about murder. “Lost River” has a swampy warble and backing keyboards that give it a solemn fullness. The lead break has both a somberness and a ruthlessness to it. “Beautiful Sadness” wraps the set up with a fierce bluntness, and seems more like the end of Side 1 than the last song on the album.

Out this Friday, September 18, you can find Heathens & Prophets in the digital everywhere. I am hoping it will pop up on Spotify so I can follow them there. These four songs are just part of the album the band was working on when the pandemic put the slows to the world. They have continued to write more material and will release it when recording becomes practicable. I can’t wait to hear the other songs, too. Recommended.

Band photo by Shane Gardner.

Links.

https://www.pimmithillsmusic.com

https://www.facebook.com/PimmitHillsMusic

https://gyard.bigcartel.com/products

Pimmit Hills, Heathens & Prophets review (2020)