tempobet yeni adresi
like this cd review

03/06/2015 : POKEY LAFARGE - Something In The Water

POKEY LAFARGE

Something In The Water

MusicCD
Blues

[75/100]   

Universal Music
03/06/2015, Paul PLEDGER

There's no denying that American ragtime-n- soul urchin LaFarge kinda looks like the type of guy who'd call you a 'mook', whack you for your prohibition liquor then take off with a couple of broads in a beaten up Cadillac. So after six earnest albums, is he some kinda wise-guy trying for a seventh? Thankfully, given the strength of most of the songs on his first for eclectic roots-stalwart Rounder Records, it's a 'yes'.

Something in the Water may have seen him drop the South City Three suffix from his moniker but this is very much a band effort. LaFarge has written or co-written ten out of the twelve numbers with the sixteen (count 'em) musicians all responsible for creating a friendly, frenetic and fun album that still boasts plenty of references to old-time American roots, without compromising on quality. There's Western swing, ragtime, gospel, blues, Americana and Dixieland all over most of the album - you can see what attracted Jack White to the St. Louis singer when considering him for his Blunderbuss album (White enlisted LaFarge to vocalise on I Guess I Should Go To Sleep and then promptly signed him up for LaFarge's 2013 self-titled album on Third Man) - keyword, authenticity.

LaFarge tilts his hat in the direction of Hank Williams, Earl Scruggs, Jimmie Rodgers and latter-day JD McPherson (another true-to-form retro rocker worth investigating), with stompers such as the title-track, Actin' a Fool and Wanna Be Your Man but also lilting balladeering on Far Away and Cairo Illinois. Although his voice is built for hot-jivin' hillbilly hoedowns - an enriched vibrato-soaked soprano - he proves on the slower songs that he can croon when he wants. Tampa Red's All Night Long and Bullock and Whiting's When Did You Leave Heaven are given respectful covers that compliment the self-penned efforts perfectly.

Something in the Water is an enlivening good-time album that doesn't wallow in the blues or paddle in the shallow-end of faux Americana - it's a set that swims with the confident backstroke of an Olympic champion. His best to date.

This review also appeared also on Flipside Reviews.

Paul PLEDGER
03/06/2015


Music reviews

04
08
CODE INDIGO
Endgame - The Best Moves
22
07
RED LORRY YELLOW LORRY
Strange Kind Of Paradise
28
06
S.Y.P.H.
Album 4
27
06
A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS
Some Dreams
26
06
BRIDES
Sandcastle
24
06
THE LIGHT DREAMS
Málverk

NEWSLETTER

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

NEWS

08
08
35 years of Head/Down with MOEV
01
08
This month, 42 years ago, Nitzer Ebb recorded their first demo Basic Pain Procedure!
30
07
On this day, 46 years ago, British punk rocker Johnny Rotten appeared on BBC TV's 'Juke Box Jury'.
29
07
MARIE ANN HEDONIA Weaves A Cinematic Web Of Destruction In New Music Video
29
07
“Nothing For Nothing” Marks Dark, Triumphant Return of Dirk Da Davo's Neon Electronics
28
07
27 years Obsolete with Fear Factory!

Concert reviews

22
04
GAVIN FRIDAY
Live at 404 / De Vooruit - Ghent - 01/04.2025
28
11
BELGIAN ELECTROWAVE IS NOT DEAD 3
Belgian ElectroWave Is Not Dead 3

GET A COPY OF OUR MAGAZINE
SEND TO YOUR HOME

INTERVIEWS

29
07
EX-VOTO
“Decisions. In a modern time. Transmissions. From the inner mind.“
21
07
RED LORRY YELLOW LORRY
“Oh who gave us this today. Will see tomorrow fade away.“
18
07
THE RED MOON MACABRE
“The Dance Of Death. Calamity Cold. The Dance Of Death. Living In A Dark World.”
17
07
GHOSTING
“And the shadows float ahead.“
14
07
CRYPTOCHROMA
'I have a profound passion for dystopian, post apocalyptic and scientific themes.'

PHOTOS

23
07
DUCTAPE
Amphi Festival Keulen
23
07
BLOODY DEAD AND SEXY
Amphi Festival Keulen
23
07
SKYND
Amphi Festival Keulen
23
07
ROME
Amphi Festival Keulen
23
07
REIN
Amphi Festival Keulen
23
07
DIE KRUPPS
Amphi Festival Keulen
23
07
HELL BOULEVARD
Amphi Festival Keulen

ADVERTISE
IN PEEK-A-BOO

VIDEO CLIPS

08
08
VARSOVIE
Killing Anna
07
08
AUSTRA
Utopia
06
08
ATARI TEENAGE RIOT
Adrenaline
05
08
MICHAEL ZODOROZNY
14th Street Union Square Station
04
08
PORNO KARAOKE
The Bus (Live)
03
08
ELEKTROKOHLE
Introspective
02
08
CONTRE JOUR
Spiral