Thursday, March 7, 2013

Album Review: Churchwood - 2

Churchwood
2
**and1/2 out of *****

Boogie-Woogie'in with some warped honkin'n-rawk-blues, Churchwood comes hootin' and stompin' on their second full length release conveniently titled 2.   

Disk opener "Duende" is smoking with guitar solos sounding meaty behind the changing tempos from the 5 piece Texas outfit.  "Keels Be Damned" conveys some waltzing weirdness in the vein of "Singapore" from Tom Waits while the strong slide guitar of "Weedeye"pairs nicely with the groups sound. Lyrically the tune seems to be about some sort of drug trip gone bad or at least weird. Joe Doerr's vocals and lyrics overall may be a bit off putting to some as they are produced upfront and can admittedly be vulgar (not a bad thing in our book) and odd (never a bad thing) but it is also what sets Churchwood apart. 

The group really doesn't do funky too well on the creatively titled "You Be the Mountain (I'll Be Mohammad)" and while "Devil In Me" is a fine work out, amping up the wild punk on this rocker is needed to kick it up. On the plus side "A Message From Firmin Desloge" buzzes along with electrified confidence and sets an engaging tone off the bat. When the horns kick in for this tune it elevates it above the rest with a rocking outro that makes you want to hit rewind and ride that sucker one more time; easily the high point on the disk.  

This electric freak-blues outfit from Austin isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, reminding at times of such far ranging acts as Captain Beefheart to ZZ Top. Churchwood however aren't going for mainstream appeal, they are content dishing out their our unique, warped take on the blues.  
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An interesting band all around.  Support Churchwood here, grab the album here and Check out our favorite tune "A Message From Firmin Desloge":

and peep some of their live show to get a sense of the band below:

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