The Beautiful Loser Society - Aim Low

Recently I came across the band from the Four Corners region of Colorado, The Beautiful Loser Society. Whose new CD Aim Low is a veritable smorgasbord of Roots Rock styles. Featuring Southern Rock, Outlaw Country and Blues. The album rocks with tales of losers, loners, moonshiners and jilted lovers. All of these tales are cloaked with a certain Gothic charm. The Beautiful Loser Society is Chuck Barry on rhythm guitar and lead vocal, Kevin Chelf on lead guitar, Danny Bankston on the drums and Mike McCluhan on the electric and upright bass. The album was mixed and mastered in Austin by Dale X Allen and Cris Burns who deserve some of the credit for Aim Low's Gothic feel. Call it Roots Goth, or Gothic Twang. Whatever description it is given the Society's music deserves to be heard.

The band seems to have a loyal fanbase in the Durango/Telluride area but I can only hope their reputation can grow beyond this regional status to a wider audience. From the opening track,"Delta Shine," which tells the story of an outlaw moonshiner to the hilarious "Best Thing (That Ever Happened to the Worst Girl in Town.)" Their is also "ole John Deere," a touching tale about a family searching for something to cling to while facing hard Times. Country songs like "Talkin' to the Devil" also abound on Aim Low. The album is fun listen and certainly a gem of a find.

MySpace

Buy at CD Baby

Blue Mountain Reunited and Reborn on New Album

2008 has seen some of the founding insurgents that have been credited for the Alt-Country movement have released albums this year. Names like the Old 97’s, Alejandro Escovedo, Gary Louris, Jason Ringenberg among others have proven that, in spite of rumors to the contrary, alt-country (or whatever you want to call it) is alive and well. You can now add a reunited Blue Mountain to that list. They have actually released two albums this year. Omnibus contains remakes of classic material. Midnight in Mississippi is an album of new work and the focus of this review. Folks Blue Mountain is back with a vengeance. The gang from Oxford, Mississippi has released an album that has a Southern Gothic masterpiece. Steeped in Southern Rock, Country and Hill Country Blues, the album like great Southern literature is at once dark and beautiful, a dichotomy which makes the album so compelling.

There are songs on the album that are mid-tempo Southern Rock. These songs, like “Groove Me,” “By Your Side” and “Gentle Soul,” provide an undercurrent from which other songs can spin off. “She’s a Wild One” is a story song set in Mexico. The title cut is a dirty blues influenced cut about a night that begins in Junior Kimbrough’s club and ends in violence in a cheap hotel. (Have you ever noticed how many country and blues songs involve cheap hotels?) The most fun song is the blues romp “Skinny Dipping” that closes the album. Blue Mountain was missed while they were gone and Midnight in Mississippi is a welcome return.

Listen on MySpace

This review also appears on Twangville

Jason Isbell Review on Twang Nation

Twang Nation has an excellent review of former Drive-By-Trucker Jason Isbell's new album. Keep an eye on him I think good things are in his future.

http://www.twangnation.com/2007/07/17/jason-isbell-sirens-of-the-ditch-new-west-review/

Check Out His MySpace Page:

http://www.myspace.com/jasonisbellmusic