Picking Up Where They Left Off
Sad Songs Keep the Devil Away
Posted On September 29, 2015
Alone at 3AM’s new album Show The Blood showcases the band’s trademark ability to create contagious, rock-induced melodies about small town life in the Midwest. Show the Blood picks up where its 2012 LP Midwest Mess left off. Guitarist and vocalist Max Fender delivers coarse and passionate vocals set to the lead guitar of Andy Hittle, keyboard and harmony from Sarah Davis, bass from Joey Beck, and drums of Chris Mueller. Like Alone at 3AM’s previous records, the band’s song construction is impeccable, with just the right amount of guitar, chorus, song length, and emotion.
Max Fender and bassist Beck have played together for 16 years. The two emerged from the Ohio bar scene with their album 2008 City Out of Luck, which gathered quick acclaim. Though the band changed some members since then, Fender and Beck continued Alone at 3AM’s success with the standout album Cut Your Gills in 2010. Keyboardist Sarah Davis joined the band in 2008 and provides splendid harmonies with Fender on their new album. Her keyboard kicks in at just the right moments to complement Hittle and Fender’s rugged guitar.
Fender’s fans enjoy his emotional candor. His small-town lyrics raise subjects that listeners can relate too. Show me Blood highlights grief, depression, drugs, and the challenge of growing up poor. “Story on Sixth” examines the struggles of a girl’s small town life, while “Stick and Needles” highlights the danger of heroin abuse overrunning a town.
On the album’s second track “I’m Dying,” Fender reflects on the challenge of raising a family on a low income. “This song is about growing up and hearing my parents fight over money,” Fender states, “We were lucky that my dad always kept a job doing carpentry during the Nineties. A lot of families weren’t so lucky.”
Fender gives up hope in “Nothing Really Changes” explaining that it’s how a person rebounds when “life tries to rearrange us” that matters. In “Not Quite Yet” Fender discusses the importance of holding onto one’s dreams when depressed. Even in Fender’s sadder songs, his lyrical passion and the band’s musical backdrop gives the listener optimism. In perhaps the album’s best song, “Upside,” Fender writes about the pain resulting from the unexpected death of a boy in a car wreck:
Tell me about the upside of this
Tell me why we exist
Tell me why I don’t quit all this pain
Show Me Blood is a superb album from the first to the last track. Alone at 3AM fans will relish fresh music from the Midwest icons, and new fans will enjoy the record as a valuable introduction to a great Americana / Rock band. (+words: chris dishman @altcbeyond+)
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