Soledad Brothers – 'The Hardest Walk' (Loog) Released 06/03/06

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March 07, 2006 by Jeff Ando

Soledad Brothers – 'The Hardest Walk' (Loog) Released 06/03/06

Soledad Brothers Tickets

It all seemed so easy a couple of years ago. Riding on the crest of the wave that was the Detroit lo-fi blues bandwagon, the Jack White-endorsed Soledad Brothers gained much critical acclaim and niche success with their 2003 album 'Voice of Treason'. Now, with post-punk, new wave and 1980s electro jostling with the 'rag and bone' rock of Babyshambles and the Arctic Monkeys - and with even the once-mighty Strokes pushed to the boundaries of cultural relevance - the odds for 'The Hardest Walk' building on the band's previous success do not look great.

However, the blues have always looked to celebrate the underdog, to see life from the perspective of the tragic loser, so in many ways the lack of expectation surrounding this album may play into the band's hands. This indeed becomes evident as soon as you hear rollicking first track 'Truth Or Consequences', the Dylanesque 'Downtown Paranoia Blues' or the Quotastic 'Sweet & Easy', music for hard-drinking, fast living men. It's all very 'Exile On Main Street'.

Increasingly though there are other sides to the album. More slow-paced tracks come in the form of 'Crying Out Loud' and sinister album highlight 'Dark Horses' - with the inspiration for this taken from the recent breakdown of chief Brother Johnny Walker's long term relationship - while 'Mean Ol' Toledo' is a prehistoric wig-out that makes them sound like the houseband for Deadwood or the Soggy Bottom Boys from George Clooney's Homer parody 'O' Brother, Where Art Though?'.

Though circumstances may dictate that many overlook this record, those people would be wrong to do so. Although you wouldn't expect it to make much of a dent on the charts, this is a proper album from a proper band.

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