Eclecto Groove Records artist: My Own Holiday - Reason To Bleed - New Release Review

I just received the newest release (February 17, 2015), Reason To Bleed, from My Own Holiday and it's raggedly cool! This two piece band featuring Joey Chrisman on guitar and vocal and Nick Bartolo on drums opens with Hold On Me, a stripped country blues rocker. With a blues overtone and that just ready to break up to on guitar tone this track is a great start. Up next is Razorblades, another simple rocker with definite roots to the old blues via Ted Nugent, Ozzie, Jack White and the Keys. I especially like the simple full tube distortion guitar solo. Very cool. Two Coins has a really nice feel with all melody on Crisman's vocals, with guitar riffs and drums punching. Excellent! Memphis has a more folksy feel with straight chord strumming (mildly distorted) and drums. Devil In Me actually sounds like what I would think a band would sound like if Jack Bruce and Josh Homme put it together. Very cool! Reason To Bleed has a traditional blues drone note and straight simple rhythm. With rough and tumble drums, this is one of the most radio worthy with a particularly memorable melody and cool guitar solo. Whiskey In The Well is a quiet acoustic ballad which is very nicely written and soft compared to the wide open nature of most of the rest of the release. Nice contrast! On The Floor Blues is one of my favorite tracks with strong tie to early American blues rock like Mountain but with a much more simplified and less amplified sound. Excellent! Smile is a boogie track with distorted vocals and a simple boogie guitar rhythm. Again bringing on the obtuse loose guitar work sets the track apart. Stone Free has a much fuller rock sound sounding less like a 2 piece band and more polished. Single note guitar soloing has more a punk effect. Very cool! Stranded is a sensitive ballad with a straightforward melody. This is another track that could easily garner widespread radio play due to it's universal feel. Don't Shine On Me has a really cool R&B feel with a great groove. The simplicity of the instrumentation compared to the dynamics of the execution, and another loosely grinding full bodied guitar solo makes it another of my favorites on the release. Wrapping the release is Right Back Where I Started has a simple country ballad feel. Clean vocals and acoustic guitar accompaniment makes this a nice closer for the set. I think that this is an excellent release with guts and teeth. I saw one of the bands that they have been compared to on tv this weekend. This other band, who I really liked has added additional instruments and it took away nearly every drop of edge that they had and the polish was way to apparent. My Own Holiday is a new deal and if you like stripped down rock with a blues edge... this is it!

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