The Bottle Rockets Sweat It Out at the South Broadway Athletic Club
Rob Dickens
Posted On October 26, 2015
St. Louis, Missouri band The Bottle Rockets have just released its twelfth album South Broadway Athletic Club (on October 2 via Bloodshot Records).
The Bottle Rockets hit the scene in the 1990’s and its eponymous debut (1993) and follow-up, 1995’s The Brooklyn Side, have become landmark releases, having recently been re-released due to their status.
The band has been harder than most to pigeon-hole. Too fast and loud for country, too rootsy for rock ‘n’ roll. The band, however, has a strong following with many devotees acquired along the band’s journey.
This is the band’s first studio album since 2009’s Lean Forward.
South Broadway Athletic Club sees the quartet (Brian Henneman, Mark Ortmann, John Horton and Keith Voegele) repeat the band’s trademark music – all so effortless, writing about everyday things with the full pull of power roots rock ‘n’ roll.
Although they again worked with long-time producer Eric “Roscoe” Ambel, it was the first time the group recorded a full album in their hometown of St. Louis, Missouri and they all spent more time than usual in developing the new material.
South Broadway Athletic Club is an album full of new experiences for the band. How did it turn out?
The album kicks off with “Monday (Everytime I Turn Around)” which is as catchy as all get-out, with everything in place where it should be. “Big Lotsa Love” has engaging wordplay and jangling power guitar. I Don’t Wanna Know” (nuthin’) says it all, keep it simple and enjoy the ignorance (Horton’s guitar is a treat), and “Big Fat Nuthin'” continues the theme, a rememedy to extreme exhaustion – ‘my idea of recreation is brain-dead flat-line vegetation’.
For earthly simplicity, the zenith is “Dog,” a defiant and unashamed tribute to a favorite canine: “I love my dog, he’s my dog/ If you don’t love my dog, that’s OK/ I don’t want you to, he’s my dog”. The same feelings emerge about the song itself.
“Something Good” is a delight – catchy chorus, nice guitar runs and a Byrds-type aesthetic. My favourite track is “Building Chryslers”, with a wall of power chords, carefully added ingredients to a wonderful wall of sound, combined with a stark tale of taking the cheap option at the car assembly plant. “Smile” (At Me) is a welcome acoustic interlude with Horton’s guitar delicious. Another highlight is the sweet soulful “Ship It On The Frisco” about hopping trains as a child.
At the core of the band and South Broadway Athletic Club is singer/guitarist/lyricist Brian Henneman who meticulously crafts these old-hand experiences and attitudes.
The Bottle Rockets are back in style. Gathering more devotees no doubt. You never know, the band might even become hugely popular at this rate!
