One of the great newer bands that i saw live this year. They opened for Buddy Guy and held their own.
Since their beginnings in the Kansas heartland a decade ago,
guitarist Aaron Moreland and vocalist/harpist Dustin Arbuckle have
captured the visceral spirit of the early 20
th century Delta
blues and the raw energy of post-World War II urban blues and distilled
it all into a hard-driving and powerful garage-rock configuration of
guitar, vocals, harp and drums.
Moreland & Arbuckle build on that solid foundation with the August 23, 2011, release of
Just A Dream,
their second album on Telarc International, a division of Concord Music
Group. The 12-song set showcases Moreland’s dynamic and compelling
guitar work – two tracks were recorded on his cigar-box guitar
consisting of three guitar strings and one bass string – Arbuckle’s
emotionally charged vocals and edgy harp, and drummer Brad Horner’s
rock-solid backbeat.
Just A Dream adds a few layers of sophistication to the rootsy sensibility previously captured in the band’s acclaimed 2010 Telarc debut,
Flood.
“The clear objective was to retain the gritty, raw feel that we
created on our prior release, but push everything up about four notches
as far as sound quality, the selection of songs, the production and
every other aspect of the record,” says Moreland. “Everything we’ve done
in the past was set up in one big room and recorded in a couple days.
On this record, we spent far more time, and our quality control was far
more stringent than it’s ever been. And it shows. When this record was
finished, I thought, ‘Yeah, this is what I wanted to achieve.’ This
record is fourteen steps beyond anything we’ve ever done before.”
This heightened polish is partly the result of an ambitious tour schedule over the past 15 months. Since the release of
Flood,
Moreland & Arbuckle have crossed paths on the road with the likes
of ZZ Top, George Thorogood, Jonny Lang, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Los
Lonely Boys and other veterans who have mined the rich vein where the
blues and rock intersect. Along the way, they picked up a few pointers
about showmanship and how best to deliver the message, meanwhile,
logging 82,000 road miles in just nine months in their Chevy Suburban.
“We’ve definitely taken a lot of cues on how to put on a good show,”
says Arbuckle. “We’ve developed a better understanding of how to work
bigger crowds. You connect with a crowd in a certain way in a smaller
club, but when you start getting into bigger venues, it’s an entirely
different dynamic.”
But the real substance is in the music itself, which consists
primarily of tunes penned by Moreland & Arbuckle but also borrows
from outside sources in a couple instances. “White Lightnin’” is a
contribution from legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, whose work with
Booker T. and the MGs on the Stax label during the ‘60s and early ‘70s
literally defined American soul music. In addition to contributing the
song, Cropper also lays down a searing guitar solo to go with it. The
result is an example of the band’s mission to push the parameters
established by their previous work.
“The version Steve sent us on a demo was kind of a slow blues tune,”
says Moreland. “Our version is about 45 miles an hour faster than the
original. But it’s a good tune regardless of how it’s played. It has a
nice hook to it, and it was great to work with someone like Steve, who
is about as prominent a figure as you can get when it comes to this kind
of music.”
Everything that comes before “White Lightnin’” is equally satisfying,
beginning with “The Brown Bomber” and “Just A Dream,” the throbbing
opening tracks. “Purgatory” is a riff-driven declaration of primal need,
either for something or someone. “Whether that thing or that person is
good for you or not, you just need it and you just want it,” says
Arbuckle. “And you know it’s probably not going to be good once you get
it, or it might be good only for a minute but not for the long term. But
the not having is the worst part.”
The slow and churning “Travel Every Mile” spotlights Moreland’s dirty
guitar and Arbuckle’s combination of earnest vocals and wailing harp,
and laments the distance one must cross to return to a lover. The result
is a haunting experience.
The swaggering “Heartattack and Vine,” a song borrowed from the
catalog of Tom Waits, has been a favorite of the Moreland & Arbuckle
live show for a number of years. It’s enhanced here with vocal effects
that are atypical of the band’s live version.
The slow and melodic “Shadow Never Changes” is reminiscent of vintage
Pink Floyd, thanks to the atmospheric guitar-keyboard combination
beneath Arbuckle’s esoteric lyrics. Equally mysterious is “So Low,” an
understated but insistent track that gives Moreland more room to slip in
guitar lines that conjure the spirits of classic blues and vintage
rock.
Just A Dream opens a new chapter for
Moreland & Arbuckle, but there’s still a great deal of story that
has yet to unfold. “The possibilities are completely open,” says
Arbuckle. “Our music could go in so many interesting directions from
here, and yet still maintain a significant piece of what it was at the
very beginning. That’s an exciting place to be.”
If the band has any plan at all, it’s “to just keep evolving and
making great music without getting stuck in a rut,” says Moreland. “This
is the best record of our careers, and a jump-off point to rope in a
lot of new fans that have never heard us before. I think we’re lucky in
that we have a unique sound and a unique style that I don’t really hear
anywhere else.”
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