Over the years we’ve seen rock, pop and even rhythm and blues slowly erode into over-commercialized, corporate puppet shows providing music that is extremely sing songy, predictable and highly corporate. I hereby call this new breed of music “Poser Rock” and I want to personally thank all the corporate giants for successfully transforming “Sex Drugs & Rock n Roll” into “Yoga, Vitamins and Nikelback” for everybody. Of course millions of musical lemmings don’t know the difference anyway, but not everyone is entertained. Talking to many music fans out there the response is overwhelming. Give me something new, something that pushes the envelope with a fresh sound that doesn’t sound like Nikelback, Daughtry or Lifehouse.
So across my desk slides the new CD by Los Angeles based The Bluecats entitled “Earthquake Mama.” What I heard put a smile on my face. It’s a rock steady high-octane record that delivers solid songwriting, amazing playing and let it all hang-out swagger. These guys remind me of a modern day Jimmy Buffett on steroids, with maybe a hint of classic Dr. John, Brian Setzer Orchestra and even The Bues Brothers. The playing is off the hook and the songwriting is witty and entertaining. If you like the above bands you should definitely check out this CD. My favorite track is probably “Jelly Roll and the title track. CD is available on CD BABY and can be downloaded on I — Tunes.
“Earthquake Mama” by The Bluecats is clearly a solid release with many feel good rock grooves with a take no prisoners R&B guitar driven groove. This CD is comparable to a bottle of Whiskey — every now and then it’s an absolute pleasure to dive head first into. Above all it’s a release that gives us a fresh glimpse at an amazing band fro LA and takes us back a few years — before everything started sounding like — well Nickelback.
Kevin Huber
Edited by Cyrus Rhodes
