Bridging the vibe of R. L. Burnside’s Mississippi Blues with blues rock power has MonkeyJunk coming in with no static on their new album All Frequencies.
From the heat of Tony D’s stunning guitar solo on Say What (not the SRV track) to the gumbo-osity of the very catchy You Make A Mess over to the almost Big Sugar vibe of Sirens In The Night MJ’s sound is evolving.
Without a doubt Steve Marriner’s lead vocals and harp/baritone guitar shine brightly over the spectrum of this album
Elsewhere drummer Matt Sob’s groove always sticks while pushing the band.
Whether it’s propelling Jah Nah Say Kwah or reacting dynamics with Marriner and Tony D on the excellent Yearning for Yesterday Sob is integral to MJ’s sound
Either way there is wedge of mojo that all three players whip into each track that is totally unique.
As I write this the coolest instrumental of the last 5 years titled Swank sounds like an outtake from a 70’s Barney Miller episode.
And yep that’s cool folks!
And so is this album.
JOHN EMMS is a veteran music journalist, online radio host and blues/roots songwriter with Canada’s blues rockers THE SHAFTMEN. The band have just released their third album The World’s Gone Crazy https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/the-worlds-gone-crazy/id673101570
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