ALBUM REVIEW: Omar and the Howlers Back to Full Speed on ‘What’s Buggin’ You?’
Grant Britt
Posted On December 13, 2023
EDITOR’S NOTE: As the end of the year approaches, we’re taking a look back at albums we weren’t able to review when they first came out. What’s Buggin’ You? was released in August.
Omar Kent Dykes has been howlin’ since he shot out of the womb. As the gravedirt garglin’ frontman, guitarist, and howler-in-chief for Omar and the Howlers for 50 years, Dykes piled up a legacy of swampy, greasy boogie-woogie and Texas grit that reeks of cheap whiskey, back-alley blues, and low-down muddy grooves deep enough for a hippo to wallow in.
But it all came to an abrupt end in 2017, when Dykes contracted a mysterious skin disease that caused irreparable damage to the muscles in his arms, leaving him unable to play guitar. Rather than try to hang on in the biz by singing on other artists’ records, Dykes resigned himself to never playing music again. But by last August he had recovered enough to be able to play guitar on four tracks for his latest, What’s Buggin’ You?. As he has on nearly every release, Dykes pays tribute to his birthplace of McComb, Mississippi, as well as his adopted hometown of Austin, Texas.
“The Runnin’ Man” pays homage to fellow McComb native Bo Diddley, with Dykes hanging his lyrics on Diddley’s signature shave-and-a-haircut rhythm. Dykes’ guitarwork on this one demonstrates he hasn’t lost much ground in spite of his illness. “There’s no moral to this story,” he growls, “no lesson to be learned / Just a little ditty / About the braggin’ rights I’ve earned.”
He continues his bragging on “Lover Man,” contributing vocals and guitar that sound as powerful as ever.
The title cut from Omar and the Howlers’ 1987 album, Hard Times in the Land of Plenty, was their breakout single, selling over half a million copies, exposing to the masses Dykes’ unholy vocal mating of Howlin’ Wolf, Captain Beefheart, and Karl, Billy Bob Thornton’s mustard sammitch-cravin’ creature from the movie Sling Blade. On What’s Buggin’ You?, “No Peace in the City” is the follow-up to the original’s somber portrait of poverty and class division. “They’re burnin’ down the city / you can’t survive the heat,” he warns on this update. He’s spat out some of the grit he was gargling with on “Hard Times,” but the message is still stark.
“When Push Comes to Shove” is inhabited by the bones of Jimmy Reed’s “Big Boss Man,” Dykes’ gritty growl grinding over a rockabilly/Texas twang fusion fit for a jukejoint wreckin’ danceathon.
On What’s Buggin’ You?, it sounds like Dykes is having as much fun making the music as it is to listen to. It’s a great comeback from a distinctive voice almost silenced way too soon.
Omar and the Howlers’ What’s Buggin’ You? was released Aug. 18 on Big Guitar Music.
