Soledad Brothers

From the point of its inception, blues rock has borrowed from its predecessors with a loaded shotgun and ski mask. For the majority of the genre, the excitement of the music doesn’t lie as heavily in innovation (although there are exceptions) as it does in the performance and passion that brings the songs to life. It’s this passion that can be found through the complete back catalogue of work from the Soledad Brothers, and this performance that has been continually over looked as simply Exile on Main St. echoing retread. Which at basics it is, but to lay the Soledad Brothers down as simply this would be a mistake. As seen on Voice of Treason, the band take things far beyond simply trying to mock up “Rocks Off.” Each song on the album uses the conventions of its predecessors to develop an analog reel of gritty blues textures with a strong political edge. The tracks range from the ’60s rock leanings of “Cage That Tiger” to the electric blues/gospel of “Lay Down This World” and finally to the cooled acoustic wallow of Lorali. The album’s only real flaw is that it was slightly over compressed. This takes some of the spark out of the band’s performance and ultimately leaves a collection of great songs feeling slightly deflated.