CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO OF “FAITH & LOVE” ON THE RELIX SITE
The COUCH SESSIONS review of HOLLIS BROWN “Ride On The Train”
REVIEW: Hollis Brown – Ride on the Train
By Michael Carlos
he New York City-based rock group Hollis Brown released their second full-length, Ride on the Train, a couple of weeks back and I was initially hesitant about writing a review. It’s not that the record isn’t excellent because it most certainly is. The dilemma I faced was due to the fact that Michael Graves, the band’s drummer, just happens to be my second cousin. But in the ensuing days after I first listened to the album, Ride on the Train sunk its hooks into me and I just had to let people know about it. It might be one of the best rock records you’re gonna hear all year. I did make myself one promise, however: don’t talk about how great the drumming is.
Rounding out the group’s lineup is singer/guitarist Mike Montali, guitarist Jon Bonilla, and bassist Dillon Devito. Michael Hesslein contributed organ and piano on some of the songs and sometimes performs live with the group.
On songs like “Down on Your Luck” and “Gypsy Black Cat,” Devito’s ambling bass work provides a solid backbone from which to support the blistering lead guitar attack from Jon Bonilla, which is the musical equivalent of pissing on the third rail: dirty, disgusting, and heart-stoppingly electrifying. It’s almost hard to believe he’s versatile enough to pull off the seething solo of “Doghouse Blues” alongside the gentle beauty of “If It Ain’t Me”’s classical acoustic guitar melody. To be able to convey the melancholic vulnerability of the latter song and then unleash the visceral burst of restless fury that is “Walk on Water” back to back is a feat that most guitarists simply cannot pull off.
READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW ON THE COUCH SESSIONS SITE
AQUARIUM DRUNKARD interview with SWAMP DOGG
Swamp Dogg Speaks :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Jerry Williams Jr. didn’t adopt the handle “Swamp Dogg” in the early ‘70s in order to confuse, obfuscate, or mislead anyone. To hear the man tell it, he took on the name because it was imperative to do so. “It was born out of a necessity, to find myself, my identity,” the 70-year-old singer says via phone from his home in Southern California. His voice is pitched high, laced with a strong Southern accent that betrays his Georgia roots.
EAR TO THE GROUND review of HOLLIS BROWN “Ride On The Train”
BY Greg Jones
Ride on the Train is an album that a lot of people are going to love for its multi-generational appeal. But besides that, it’s just good rock music. It’s hard to peg a specific sound on it. There are no “skip” songs on this album though. Be prepared to keep it in your player, on repeat, for a long time. Oh, and the next time one of your friends says “they just don’t make music like they used to,” you slap them and hand them this album. But make sure you slap them first, for dramatic effect.
Hollis Brown have a classic sound that is sure to satisfy a variety of music fans. There’s a certain timeless element to their sound that will have typical “classic rock” fans happy. But what they also have going for them is a refreshing newness. They sound like a band that you’ve heard before, but odds are you haven’t. That’s because Hollis Brown reflect some of the greatest bands in rock music from Tom Petty to The Eagles to Lynrd Skynrd.
Hollis Brown’s “Down on Your Luck” sounds like it could have come straight out of 1966. It makes the listener feel like that “cold wind blowin’” is out the windows of an old Camaro or Mustang. “When the night runs cold and you’re down on your luck…” highlights the theme of the songwriter being available to help. But really what makes this song so good isn’t lyrical complexity, but rather a Creedence kind of joy. If you played this at a party and told the crowd it was a lost Creedence reel, you wouldn’t get much criticism.
READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW ON THE EAR TO THE GROUND SITE
SPIN MAGAZINE feature on SWAMP DOGG
Tha Real Mother****ing Doggfather
WRITTEN BY
David Marchese
Jerry “Swamp Dogg” Williams is a cult hero with a painful history who’s responsible for some of the most unique rock-influenced R&B (and weirdest album covers) ever made. And he also happens to be a pioneering indie mini-mogul. DAVID MARCHESE traveled to Southern California to get down to business with Swamp.
ROLLING STONE review of SWAMP DOGG “Total Destruction To Your Mind”
ALL MUSIC review of HOLLIS BROWN “Ride On The Train”
New York City’s Hollis Brown (a band, not a person) have a tight, sparse classic rock sound that incorporates melodic pop, slight country touches, and, underneath it all, a kind of bedrock blues sensibility, and when they’re at their best, they sound like all of those things at once, a bit like hearing Steve Earle fronting a stripped-down version of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers. Ride on the Train is the group’s debut full-length album, and it’s a gem, full of memorable songs and a sharp, taut sound that only includes what is necessary to put the song over. There’s so much to like here, including the title track and opener “Ride on the Train,” which lopes joyously and features a can’t-miss, hooky chorus, as does the wonderful and grand “Faith & Love,” while “Gypsy Black Cat” and “Down on Your Luck” sound a bit like Tom Petty gone country, only without losing a whisper of Petty’s spunk and attitude. This is a band that knows rock roots and history, and knows exactly what it’s doing, and the arrangements here have no unneeded embellishments: the guitars are whip sharp and appropriate, the drum sound is tight, spare, and perfect, and the harmonies don’t overdo. This is a band with a bright future. – Steve Leggett / ALL MUSIC
SOURCE: ALL MUSIC
PASTE MAGAZINE streams HOLLIS BROWN entire album “Ride On The Train”
Album Stream: Hollis Brown – Ride on the Train
By Dacey Orr
Hailing from New York City, Hollis Brown is a band that has developed its sound on the road. Touring with bands like Deer Tick and Lucero and taking songwriting cues from the classics, it’s easy to see how Hollis Brown’s sound could be as relevant years down the road as it is today.
The band is set to release their debut LP Ride on the Train on March 5 via Alive Records, but you can stream the album in its entirety in the player below.
MOJO reviews of SWAMP DOGG “Total Destruction To Your Mind” & “Rat On!”
POPMATTERS review of ALIVE AT THE DEEP BLUES FEST
Various Artists: Alive at the Deep Blues Fest
By David Maine
Raunchy, steaming blues-rock
Alive Records is a terrific label, a powerhouse of roots-rock and muddy, murky electric blues. This compilation of live tracks is culled from performances at the 2012 Deep Blues Fest in Bayport, MN, and it serves as a nice showcase for some of the label’s premiere bands. John the Conqueror shreds mercilessly on standout track “Three More”, while Radio Moscow tears it up with plenty of wah-wah and deep fuzz on both “Hold On Me” and “Little Eyes”.