THe BAcksliders
Thank You
Self-Released; 2009
http://www.dryvetymeonlyne.com/2009/07/21/the-backsliders-thank-you/
When I initially came across the music of THe BAcksliders, You’re Welcome was brimming with solid rock chops and had plenty of energy to spare. Yet, though the band’s no-frills approach to making garage-y ‘50s bar rock was somewhat appealing, my primary concern with the band’s aesthetic was that I felt that the songs were too short and needed a bit more room in which the music could breathe. So when the Dallas, TX-based quartet returned with Thank You, I was curious to see if they had “corrected” what I felt needed addressing in the music. Much to my surprise, when I heard a band even more deeply entrenched in its genre of choice, I was astonished at how I enjoyed the music more than before and gained a better appreciation for the sounds at play.
To put it most directly, the dirty, ragged brand of bluesy bar rock performed by THe BAcksliders is fairly infectious. There’s a strength in the brevity of the group’s songs that I hadn’t detected earlier, especially when coupled with the simplistic production style. There’s nothing fancy going on here, with very little post-recording production tweaks and tricks seemingly in effect, as if the band went straight into the sound board to keep things as raw as possible. More importantly, as demonstrated by songs like “Have You Ever Been Down,” “Soul,” and “Twisted,” the band’s gritty, confident attitude carries the music down various winding, bending paths as the songs detail assorted stories from the road and about assorted hard luck characters. Thus, even though the quality of efforts like “Maybellene Don’t” and “Bitter Days” don’t quite match up to the greater whole, I must say “Thank You” for Thank You.
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