Down Home Souls
Down Home Souls
Reel-to-Reel
This is another in what seems to be a minor explosion in the jam band category. This band, like many of the others are heavily influenced by the legacy of the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers Band. They join the likes of the String Cheese Incident, Leftover Salmon, Bluegrass Underground, and some others. Not to say these bands are all the same. They do all have some divergent influences and different starting points, but as a rule, these bands’ strengths are in their live shows, with the recordings serving more as a reminder of the good times that were had at the show. There is a whole communal aspect that goes along with these bands that gets lost on the listener who is sitting home listening to these recordings.
This particular release holds up as well as any of them, and I favor it over some of the aforementioned bands simply because of their staring point which recalls, at different points, the Allman Brothers and even the Band. It’s a bit more rootsy than the String Cheese Incident, with their world-music groove. DHS’s jazz-blues and roots influences are evident throughout. Their up-tempo and energetic delivery promises an enjoyable live show. Don’t miss the hidden-track at the end, it’s one of the best cuts on the album.
Reel-To-Reel Records, 1317 3rd Avenue, Suite 100, New York, NY 10021; http://www.downhomesouls.com
