DOM MARIANI – BORN TO BOOGIE
Ahead of the release of the new album by his latest band, the heavy hitting Datura4, Dom Mariani of Perth garage-rock legends The Stems and power pop greats the Some Loves and the DM3 reveals his long-hidden love of classic Australian blues and boogie. – I LIKE YOUR OLD STUFF HERE
Recorded cheaply, it’s a lot more in your face than the following albums and lacks the subtleties to be found on those records, but for a comparison, it probably captures more of how they still sound live, which is a treat in itself. I’m so glad that this record has been given a proper release and I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who loves noisy guitars, teenage angst and great tunes. Play it loud and play it often! – FEAR AND LOATHING HERE
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While honouring the past, this record sounds as bright as a new penny. That about sums up the feel of this recording: planted in yesteryear but cultivated firmly in the now. – THE BLUEGRASS SITUATION
I know it’s early but mark my words: come curtains on December, Lonesome Shack’s Desert Dreams – the London-by-way-of-Seattle trio’s latest full-length player – will still be creeping under the skin of critics’ lists as a contender for one of the best records of 2019.
The LP, an absolutely hypnotizing blend of Junior Kimbrough-style deep-blues, urban folk and Fahey-esque slow expansion, is just that goddamn good. – MUSIC TAP
Showcases Ben Todd’s finger picking guitar, with eerie blues vocals and a sound that seems to carry his love of North Mississippi blues as much as it does the West African guitar style of acts like Tinariwen. – GLIDE MAGAZINE
London by way of Seattle blues trio Lonesome Shack, cite everyone from Canned Heat to Lee “Scratch” Perry as influences. And those eclectic sonic connections come through loud and clear. – BLURT
There’s a lot in their music, – a pinch of folk – guitarist Ben Todd wisely spent time transposing old banjo tunes to his finger picking style – a sprinkle of country blues and a swirl of Canned Heat boogie. – AMERICANA UK
A potent blend of hypnotic Mississippi hill country blues and rangy folk-rock. – KEXP
At times moody, while at others insistently melodic, this is an album of great songs, genuine atmosphere. – FEAR AND LOATHING
They’re raw, extremely expressive, and a bit odd. – AMERICAN BLUES SCENE
It should be said that, while honouring the past, this record sounds as bright as a new penny. That about sums up the feel of this recording: planted in yesteryear but cultivated firmly in the now. – THE BLUEGRASS SITUATION HERE
I know it’s early but mark my words: come curtains on December, Lonesome Shack’s Desert Dreams – the London-by-way-of-Seattle trio’s latest full-length player, out March 1 via Alive Naturalsound Records – will still be creeping under the skin of critics’ lists as a contender for one of the best records of 2019.
The LP, an absolutely hypnotizing blend of Junior Kimbrough-style deep-blues, urban folk and Fahey-esque slow expansion, is just that goddamn good. From the start of opener “On The One,” guitar-slinger/frontman Ben Todd’s simply got you by the throat: he picks out mesmerizingly simple but devastatingly engaging little lines on amplified guitar while half-crooning lines like, “When you have love/nothing can hurt you,” suggesting, perhaps, that truth is not the only storyline you should be believing. – MUSIC TAP HERE
Recorded mostly in a farmhouse studio south of Fremantle, Dom Mariani is again joined by the rhythm section of Stu Loasby and Warren Hall plus Datura4 debutants, Bob Patient (keys) and Howie Smallman (harmonica).
Adding to the album folklore, Mariani uses a ’69 Black Les Paul previously owned by much revered Sitting Bull guitarist, Paul Felton, (and rumoured to also once belong to the legendary Daddy Cool) on most of the 10-track album. – AROUND THE SOUND HERE
Too Bad is one of our favourites from the album, it is deceptively simple desert blues, imbued with a dark, sparse humour, and it is all round wonderful to boot.
Blessed Is the Boogie certainly wears the group’s debt to John Lee Hooker and other boogie masters proudly on its sleeve. But tracks such as “Not For Me” and “Cat on a Roof” are more expansive and compositionally ambitious, while the acoustic-flavored “City of Lights” hews toward some of Mariani’s power-pop background. – BILLBOARD HERE
