Angie and the Deserters – Blood Like Wine

The latest release from California based act Angie and the Deserters comes leaping out at listeners with equal parts good time and earnest ambition. It’s a six song EP that manages to cover a remarkable expanse of stylistic territory while never sounding out of place once or ever reaching for effect. They prove equally adept at essaying blues rock poses, untainted country musings, and even a dollop of rock and singer/songwriter qualities for good measure. The impeccable production puts everything forward with a bright sheen, but there’s plenty of bite here for even the biggest sound merchant. Angie and the Deserters can coax deep feeling from their songwriting and instruments, but they are equally capable of harnessing considerable firepower when the moment calls for it.

The first song, “Country Radio”, makes that assertion unmitigated truth. It comes roaring after listening, moving like a boxer does from foot to foot during their approach, and peppers the listener’s memory with a series of guitar vamps, hard-hitting drumming, and subtler touches that help the song stand out within its first sixty seconds alone. The lyrical content bristles with memorable imagery, but its stridently confident voice rises above the fray and gives the song much of its charisma. The mood is much more sedate on the album’s second song, “Smile”. This is a deeply affecting ballad that hits all of its marks, but it goes a step further thanks to what it leaves out. There’s no inkling of the cheese ball theatrics often defining many of the ballads in country music and, as a result, “Smile” will carry much more credibility with modern audiences while never betraying its roots. “The Gift” is, perhaps, the album’s most poetic moment. The first person voice is, once again, very strong and perfectly complements a shifty, moody arrangement. The dark but undeniably emotional edge sets this song apart from the surrounding material.

“Ain’t Goin’ Down” is the album’s second stab at hard-hitting, rock oriented material, but it never commits itself entirely. This is by design. The song achieves much more by underplaying its obvious inclinations and the listeners’ gain a sense of things unsaid that’s quite appealing. The attitude here is set to a firm simmer, but the songwriting manages to exploit that at key points during its duration. The closing song on Blood Like Wine, “Don’t Cry”, is a largely acoustic track that amasses enough additional instrumentation to turn it into something quite different by song’s end. The melodic strengths of the track are its marquee value, but like the remaining songs, it has countless virtues marking it as a different beast entirely than similar efforts from like-minded peers.

Blood Like Wine has something to offer everyone. The power of its hard hitting number and the fleet finesse heard in its softer moments will attract a wide audience and never risks compromising their musical virtues in favor of mainstream attention. Instead, Angie and the Deserters succeed on their own merits and have produced a lasting record of their excellence within a short amount of time.

9 out of 10 stars.

URL: http://www.angieandthedeserters.com/

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/AngieDeserters

Cyrus Rhodes