Daemon Chili released the blues-roots drenched album Rise Up only a few months ago, and it’s already catching the ears of music fans all over New England. It is certainly a must have for any fan of this sort of music. Every note from the Dobro, lap steel, bluesy piano, mandolin, accordion, and every instrument played on this album sounds so real it’s not funny. Authenticity as well as pure joy come through loud and clear on every track. This is the kind of music that will take the listener back in time to a special place in Americana music, until it rocks out in a live setting to liven any concert.
“Boom Boom Boom” opens this album with greasy slide guitar notes moving over a sprightly ragtime piano line and cagey, sly bass runs. Engaging instrumentalists behind the voice pull the listener in with their sense of barnyard fun. Vocalist Michael Dion, formerly of Hot Day At The Zoo, sings with a hearty blues rasp. His voice, guttural and full of life, sounds like it was born to sing amidst the mesh of roots instrument being picked, plucked, and tapped around him.
Moving onto a bluesy, swaggering crawl, “Lay Your Burden Down” finds Dion emoting mightily about his world coming undone. A layer of piano notes carries this one along with a spiritual strength in the verse leading back to the chorus. Every note picked has flinty, roots resonance in it. This tune is as wide as a parade banner and as Americana as a 1930s pickup truck.
“Madman On The Loose” gets a breezy boost from Nick Heys’s accordion. That lively lift carries well through the song while perfectly augmenting Dion’s easeful vocal. Still full of gusto, Dion gives off a worldly vibe in the down tempo mode. It’s also cool to hear his swaggering attitude amidst the mesh of acoustic instrumentation around him.
“Country Girl” is pure country blues as well as an ode to a former beloved. Its charm lies in the way Dion wraps his rasp around an upbeat melody that moves with assured swiftness. Full of merriment in every note, you cannot help by tap the toes or nod the head to its bright, chirpy melody. Dion’s harmonica melody is loaded with zest that matches the old time fullness of this song. The rhythm section does justice to the jaunty groove, thanks to Jed Rosen’s bass and Bob Nash’s drums. They give a great lift to the mandolin, Dobro, Lap Steel, piano, and banjo wedged into a wafting melody overhead.
Dion gets even more personal with “My Song To You.” His timbre is relaxed into a smooth vocal line while his support players tap and pick out a lilting, flinty melody line that’s as friendly as a country neighbor. And, again, it’s the mesh of acoustic instruments that win the day, making you feel you have stopped by a front porch sing along circa 1930.
The rest of this album was recorded live at The Stone Church in Newmarket, New Hampshire. The material played at that show differs somewhat from the country roots flavor of this album’s first half. “Gypsy Moon” turns things in a whole different direction. Now, the vocalist and players are a full-bodied rock and roll band. This song finds Dion belting his guttural vocal over edgy electric guitar spikes and flinty lead guitar phrasing. It rocks right out with a tremendous down-to-earth bar band vibe. Those guitars brace each other enough to create sparks and tension underneath Dion’s swagger. The resulting vibe might make you wish you had gone to the New Years Eve concert this was recorded at.
“Take Sounding” is another of the electric guitar driven tunes that make up the second half of this CD. Dion brings it down tempo to deliver his world wary wisdom with a take his time hipness. Steven Benson’s pedal Steel, Jason Moretti’s lead guitar, and Tim Kochanski’s rhythm guitar are like a variety of barbeque sauce on an already outstanding pulled pork sandwich.
Strutting along, “Another Goodman Gone” is a burly number, with its southern fried guitar licks creating the perfect atmosphere for this tale of a big, mean guy who never loses a fight. The song matches the character’s attitude with its hefty swagger and spikes from each player. The songwriting, mildly reminiscent of Charlie Daniels, conjures great imagery to make this story appear in the listener’s mind. A film director could probably base a subplot on this.
“Blood Burning Moon” sounds like a cross between one of Lou Reed’s freewheeling melody lines and Tom Waits’ hearty, inimitable drawl. Dion and his band mates jam this one out well, elongating it with many fine nuances in the musicianship. It’s over six minutes of roots music joy.
Daemon Chili close out with the somewhat funky number “Boston Blues.” Although Dion is telling a quintessential blues tale, his husky belt and his band’s riffage put this in a whole different category. If there is such a thing as funk-blues, then Dion has invented it. There is plenty of good, old-fashioned guitar-bass-drums propulsion to keep this number going strong. The audience must have been feeling it that night and throwing their energy back at the band because the band is clearly in the moment and loving it.
Daemon Chili, a.k.a. Michael Dion, is off to a solid start with this fine documentation of their studio and live sound. Calling the album Rise Up is completely appropriate. Dion is certainly rising up from the ashes of his previous work to create something that gives off plenty of spark.
