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Consistency among a band's catalog is a very important thing. Th'
Legendary Shack Shakers are not only one of the most consistent
of the newer grit-country bands, they are undoubtedly one of the finest.
Their music has expanded its horizons over the past few years, rounding
out their Americana with alternately copious amounts of swing, darkness,
stomp, and straight-up bluesy rock'n'roll. So, pull up your rockin'
chair and have a set for a fair piece of homegrown American music.
"Old Spur Line" is a bluesy number reminiscent of George
Thorogood's more rootsy numbers, complete with 12 bar blues and
some gritty drum stomp. "Hellwater" finds The Shack Shakers
getting their Creedence vibe on; some excellent tremolo guitar
and a nice laidback groove nicely complement the smoothest song on
the record and it's catchy harmonica solo. "Swampblood"
finds the band once more doing what they do best and sliding into
a very gritty groove with plenty of marshy green sludge on their boot
bottoms. The band kicks things up a livelier notch with the rollicking
piano-hop gospel of "Born Again Again" before dipping into
the Devil's playground on "Down And Out", a track which
strangely recalls the more esoteric moments of AC/DC…
weird.
The hoedown really gets going as The Shack Shakers rock it down on
the incredible banjo-carried "Jimblyleg Man". This song
is an instant classic, with hints of Disney heart among its edgy bluegrass
reel, and some nice fiddle and harp solos for measure. To top off
the greatness of Swampblood, the band gets the perfect shuffle
going. Swing fever kicks in on the amazingly cool romp "Angel
Lust" while the perfect up-country rockabilly stomp comes shining
through on "He Ain't Right", complete with swampy Duane
Eddy style twang solo.
With Th' Legendary Shack Shakers' newest release Swampblood,
the band continues to purvey that classic country blues with a bayou
twist for which they've always been so well known in underground country
circles… the difference is that they also branch out and grow
their sound with alternative forms of alternative country music, all
the while maintaining their distinctive sound and superb musical quality.
-Embo Blake
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Th'
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