Reviewed by Harry Kaplan
This LA outfit plays some loud, garage roots rook reminiscent of the early Black Keys. Take Me At My Word opens this EP off with a bang. Some very earthy, Thickfreakness, style dirty blues that makes you shake your head to and fro. Even if you don’t want to shake your head, it is mandatory. After about 20 seconds of filthy, bluesy guitar, bass, and drums, the gritty, smoky vocals commence. This song could be a classic, it has all the elements.
The Americans prove their versatility by moving from dirty blues to Americana on Gospel Roads. This song showcases The American’s ability to excel at their instruments and really gel as a cohesive unit. Gospel Roads also features some very fine picking. Prison Yard Walk goes back to dirty, gritty, and swampy blues. A very nice little ditty that is a little bit loud coupled with some heavy blues chords laid over top. These fellas know their way around the blues fo sho.
Foreign Land seems to be a little more on the country side and a little less bluesy, but still a strong contender. The song title has different meaning today, one day after Trump won the presidency. Jim is the closer on this EP which continues down the country road. This EP really demonstrates the band’s ability to move flawlessly through different styles of music and package them together nicely in one pretty box. Not a huge sample size as far as material, but so far, so good.
Listen to and buy First Recordings