CD REVIEW: THE HOLLERIN SLUGGERS – The Promised Land

CD REVIEW: THE HOLLERIN SLUGGERS – The Promised Land
Independent
2016
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
7 ½ /10

Labelling a band as ‘Blues’ could mean anything of a hundred things to a hundred people, so we’re gonna need a little more context to understand exactly what sort of good time groove Sydney’s The Hollerin Sluggers have concocted on this fine debut album.

The trio (Owen Mancell, Andy Thor and Tim Cramer) kick off with some early Led Zeppelin histrionics with Come Over, before the slower, bluesier rock of String Of Pearls. Look closely here and you’ll catch a glimpse of Hendrix in the ultra-louche playing and jammy feel of the track.

Devil At The Liquor Store Blues revs the engine up for a burn down the highway, like Radar Love-meets-George Thorogood. Perfect for hooning down the open road with the cops on your tail. Reap What You Sew follows, with its searing slide guitar and Black Keys vibe, and She’s Like Fire is a more straight ahead rocker, and the title track is an epic that brings to mind elements of Led Zeppelin to Jack White and much in between. It’s a killer track that builds and builds, and leads nicely into Ten Hail Marys musically and lyrically.

Just when you think you’ve got the measure of these cats, they deliver a curveball in the acoustic twang of Sleepin’ Blues, its sleepy slink, subtle harmonica and tasty picking perfectly complementing the exhausted lyrics.

Category: CD Reviews