Hardchargers
Scarecrow
Mean Town Blues 4:31 Lonesome Thread
5:50 Charger Swing 3:27 Can’t Be Satisfied 2:54
Little too Late 6:44 Jojo 3:34
Sometimes 2:24
Okay, it looks like my new
publishing company has made an important step in its incarnation. I’m almost
finished with the first poet’s book to be released in January. Hopefully,
Mobius has finished, or is getting close to finishing the new Coffeeshop
Blues. It seems all things are good.
Okay the Hardchargers are a
blues/rock trio out of Ireland. I guess they play a lot of festivals and it
seems they base out of Belfast. Just the basic info I found out has piqued my
interest. So, I’m going to go ahead and dive right in. Mean Town Blues, starts
off the album. The guitar begins the song with some heavy picking from the
guitar and I believe from the bass as well. This song is a real display of
musicianship from the band. These guys are definitely professional musicians
not just a band put together to follow chord progressions. This song is one
hell of a way to begin the album.
Lonesome Thread, is really a hardcore blues song.
One thing that bothers me about this tune is the monotony of the guitar riff. I
don’t know something about it just drives my mind a bit crazy. This would
probably be a good live tune, where you could go get a refill at the bar. Can’t
be Satisfied, comes up next. I really like the guitar picking and the
washboard. This really reminds me of bluegrass for some reason, I like the
lyrics and vocals on this song. It’s a short tune, yet seems so far to be one
of my favorites.
Jojo,is a song I really wanted to
review, mainly because I keep looking at the song list I typed out and it has a
redline under it. I have yet to run a spellcheck. I like the mountain music
influence, as it is clearly on display in this one. I really still can’t figure
out who Jojo is. And, Sometimes, is the last song on this EP. I really
like the lyrics in this song. It definitely seems to explain my behavior.
Overall, I
liked the album. I think this band I would appreciate at a live show. I wasn’t
really blown away by it, but I also didn’t hate it. It’s just kind of one of
those albums. Not bad, but to me it wasn’t anything spectacular.
Jeremy Frost for Country Music News International Magazine & Radio Show