No sane person would willingly excavate the contents of a deep south swamp, but while listening to this countrified rock ‘n’ roll masterclass from Texan dudes Whiskey Myers, the thought occurs that someone has done just that. Flipping the bird at anything vaguely resembling a current trend, ‘Mud’ is so unashamedly vintage it’s as though a criminally discarded collaboration between the Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Band has been salvaged after decades marinating in the Tennessee wetlands.
If that sounds like drooling hyperbole, check out Stone’s piano meditation on terminal heartbreak, with its closing guitar licks undulating like soul searching waves of desperation. Instant classic. Or spin Hank’s road-weary plea for a quieter existence as it mashes up folky bluegrass and hard rock into a stonking hook-heavy growler. Still not convinced? Try the radiant escapism of Lightning Bugs and Rain, replete with joyous horns and Muscle Shoals grooves, or Some of Your Love’s moreish, gospel-infused R&B swagger for extra proof.
Where Whiskey Myers’ third record - 2014’s ‘Early Morning Shakes’ – leant towards laid-back, loose-limbed cuts, this is more structured with a lack of prolonged instrumental passages and only two tracks over four minutes. That’s a touch disappointing, but does reflect how the record’s tightly woven lyrical focus is echoed by the music.
Now a seven piece, following the arrival of fiddler/keyboard player Jon Knudson and percussionist Tony Kent, these 10 songs are leaner, meaner, tougher and tighter, but still add plenty of textures - including exceptional Honkette-style backing vocals - to flesh out diligently crafted, personal character tales that explore a beloved, but tough, southern lifestyle.
On The River recalls the old frontier where their ancestors scraped to make ends meet. Beginning like an episode of Deadwood with sorrowful fiddle and banjo, it becomes a feisty boot-tapper where a ripping six-string climax mirrors the desperation of those times.
The swamp-metal title-track, meanwhile, finds a dirt farmer waging war on bankers striving to foreclose his home as Cody Cannon snarls: "Ain’t no man gonna take it away, because it's deep down in my blood. So step across the ol' property line, and you’ll die right here in the mud." Frogmen, a baton passing co-write with the Black Crowes’ Rich Robinson, follows a soldier who, although longing to be back home, risks his life fighting in the Middle East.
It’s seemingly de rigeur for southern bands to romanticise their birthplace, but at least Whiskey Myers tackle the subject from a variety of perspectives. The tobacco-chewing riffage of Deep Down In The South may provide the obligatory Sweet Home Alabama moment that celebrates their way of life, but country confessional Trailer We Call Home delicately depicts a young family surviving in less than affluent circumstances as the husband recalls the roads left untravelled.
Although ‘Mud’ never quite escapes the spectre of icons past, it’s still a career-best statement from a band who can now stand shoulder to shoulder with Blackberry Smoke and the Cadillac Three at the forefront of southern rock’s resurgence. Brilliantly named after a storied Mexican fighting rooster, Whiskey Myers have delivered the kind of knockout that will leave their peers on the canvas and fans hollering in celebration.
Whiskey Myers Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu December 01 2016 - LONDON Dome
Fri December 02 2016 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Institute
Mon December 05 2016 - MANCHESTER Ruby Lounge
Tue December 06 2016 - GLASGOW St Lukes
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Where Whiskey Myers’ third record - 2014’s ‘Early Morning Shakes’ – leant towards laid-back, loose-limbed cuts, this is more structured with a lack of prolonged instrumental passages and only two tracks over four minutes. That’s a touch disappointing, but does reflect how the record’s tightly woven lyrical focus is echoed by the music.
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