Beau + Luci – Live at Aggie Theatre

Beau + Luci – Live at Aggie Theatre

SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/beauandluci/like-a-drum-live-from-aggie-theatre 

Singer/songwriters Beau + Luci’s new release Live from Aggie Theatre opens with “Rattle the Bones” and, if it’s an introduction for new listeners, the duo couldn’t have chosen a better song to start things off. The Howling Tongues, backing Beau + Luci on this release, bring their A-game to a blues rock gem with plenty of rugged soul and warm potent guitar work weaving around Beau + Luci’s singing. There’s some interesting dynamic shifts later in the song that are particularly satisfying, but the vocal harmonies sustaining the entirety of Beau + Luci’s performance is the heartbeat of the song. It’s easy to be entranced by the spellbinding vocal arrangement on the second track “Deeper Well” and mixing it with another strong blues rock performance from The Howling Tongues, albeit not nearly as busy as “Rattle the Bones”, enriching everything Beau + Luci do. 

There’s compelling dynamics driving much of “Muddy Water”, particularly in its second half. The Howling Tongues are excellent at plumbing deep into blues rock motifs without ever sounding like their imitating or pandering to a specific niche. There’s definitely a Southern fried crawl to some passages throughout Live from Aggie Theatre, but the musical tenor of the band has strong strands of speaker busting Texas and Chicago blues. The drumming throughout the first three songs is outstanding but reaches a high point with this track. “Black Boots” allows listeners an opportunity to hear the duo interacting with a respectful, involved audience and the band opens the song with a confident swing. “Black Boots” has a recurring guitar riff playing off the vocals and it has a grinding, emotional quality well suited to the song’s attitude. 

One of the best songs included with this live release is the track “Like a Drum” and the duo, seemingly aware of this as well, deliver an inspired vocal performance elevating an already fine, pared down lyric. It’s one of their unique talents that Beau + Luci can so thoroughly plunder the past for present inspiration, yet never failing to transmute tradition through the prism  of their own imagination into something signature, distinctive. The final track “50 Feet” is just as effective and, arguably, stands as the finest display of dynamic command on Live from Aggie Theatre. The Howling Tongues are clearly comfortable with their glide through this particular performance and realize every bit of the song’s potential, but Beau + Luci are even more distinguished in their powerful efforts dramatizing this performance. Beau + Luci’s Live from Aggie Theatre is a formidable live release in an era when albums are considered increasingly archaic and live releases are, essentially, unheard of. Their take on blues rock and electrified folk never sounds like self-conscious tribute; instead, Beau + Luci are quite of our time and connect with listeners from the first.

Mindy McCall