Last
Resort Mexico
The opening verse of the opening track, Blind Dead McJones, tells
us everything we need to know about how great this album is going to be…
McJones himself is an international man of mystery who
doesn’t always make it to their shows, but ‘the boys’ in
the band definitely leave us in no doubt as to the extent of his powers; each
song is a miniature masterpiece which subverts the traditional expectations of
the blues genre, as they belt out monumental rhythmic mountains of powerful
riffs and witty vocals along with some truly skilful musical interplay.
Some of the lyrics are like rap star boasting, but funny: he
built the hospital he was born in with his own hands… when his daughter lost
her virginity he went out and got it back… he sold the devil a soul he’d made
himself! So, across this album we have the crossroads legend pushed to the very
edges of credibility, but it seems that to take this too seriously is to
totally miss the point.
Refreshing isn’t the word; okay, it isn’t exactly
pioneering, but it echoes many of the great blues sounds, riffs and ideas of
the last century into a modern reimagining of the type of bands that existed
before we were even thought of and wow is it fun! The closing track, Wolf Howl,
captures the live experience and I will certainly be on the lookout for an
opportunity to catch them live.
Have a look here; you may even catch a glimpse of the man
himself, all I know is he has a beard that you can hear on every track!
Matt Rhodie
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