WHO ARE THEY? A southern-soul and blues septet that inexplicably hails from the Great White North.
WHAT IS THIS? The female-fronted, horn-topped Toronto combo’s debut full-length — and a disc that should instantly vault them to the top ranks of the Canadian blues scene while earning them an international audience.
WHAT DOES IT SOUND LIKE? A band whose members were bred, born and brought up on the far side of the Mason-Dixon line — and who spent their formative years hanging around in Memphis, Macon and Muscle Shoals, soaking up the sound and style of everyone from the Allmans, Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding to Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt and The Tedeschi-Trucks Band.
WHAT SHOULD IT BE TITLED? Coming Out Swinging.
HOW SHOULD I LISTEN TO IT? While impatiently waiting for them to show up at a blues festival near you this summer.
WHAT 10 WORDS SUM IT UP? Authentic, earthy, gritty, punchy, soulful, rough ’n’ ready, raspy, powerful, confident, stylish.
WHAT ARE THE BEST SONGS? Upbeat, funky fare like Arizona, Forgive and Talking Backwards kick the album off in high gear — and while the grooves and tempos change, the quality of their songwriting is consistently strong throughout the 10-song set.
WHAT WILL MY FRIENDS SAY? ‘I’m going to need to see some birth certificates before I believe these people are really Canadian.’
HOW OFTEN WILL I LISTEN TO IT? Anytime you feel like taking a trip down to the Delta without having to empty your wallet, find your passport and deal with gun-toting yahoos.
IF THIS ALBUM WERE ALCOHOL, WHAT WOULD IT BE? A double shot of bourbon, straight up.
SHOULD I BUY, STREAM OR STEAL IT? How often do you get to buy a killer blues album and keep your money in this country?
