The Mallett Brothers Band’s latest CD Lights Along The River is loaded with the kind of gritty Americana roots rock that these boys from Maine have become so well respected for. They rock and roll with the best kind of organic, earthy substance and fiery passion. Even though the band hails from Maine, they make you feel the south will rise again when they treat you to something that feels very real and powerful on each track. Combining their authentic roots rock sound with a reflective lyrical style that perceives stories on the level of epic myth, it’s like William Faulkner has been resurrected with an electric guitar in hand.
Opening with “Late Night In Austin,” the band jumps right in with nimble picking, acoustic and electric guitars offering up ripples of gritty, hearty notes that perfectly augment the handsome sandpapery lead vocal. The listener is soon ushered into a mellow glide of motion from the rhythm section while those grittier elements adorn the ride with something real. One cannot help but feel he’s landed on an Austin, Texas street corner, taking in the sounds of the honky tonk bars and that authentic all American accent.
“There Are No Rules In This Game” combines an earthy guitar grind with a slithering harmonica line and rich, raw lead vocals. This up-tempo gem gallops along while bits of feisty harp and guitar notes making their own special sparks, contrasting with the rhythm section’s motion filled glide. This one too jumps out at the listener with its wholesomely fresh, raw, roots sound. There are no artificial additives or preservatives.
“Sunny Day,” too, chugs forward with something that is good for the heart and soul because it comes from the heart and soul. It’s a real treat for the ears and the soul to hear every one of those gritty little acoustic guitar notes, those twangy electric notes, and everything else these boys are picking and plucking. Hearing that lead vocal emote in a mellow groove while the notes percolate authentic roots music makes one want to sing along and envision the Sunny girl he sings about.
An ode to a special instrument, “Les Pauls” slathers its earthy groove with peppery banjo notes, electric guitar assertions, and a reflectively cool vocal. Singing about Les Pauls, Mustangs, and local girls requires some serious amounts of cool, and this singer pulls it off. One can feel how strongly he feels about the images and objects in this playful tune.
“Don’t Mind The Morning” rides the rails of a tender, emotionally honest pedal steel melody line. That earnest country twang just travels the motions of this song with beauty and accuracy. Its notes seem to rise, circulate, and emote a special feeling. Sung duet style, two handsome vocals pivot around one another handsomely before joining to make the chorus chockfull of feeling and sound.
The boys from Maine rock things up a bit on “Tennessee.” Here, a two step shuffle beat gets peppered with hearty doses of pretty pedal steel melody, flinty electric guitar rhythms, and a thick, pulpy bass line that carries everything well. It’s packed with jaunty fun and sincere emotional impact. One cannot help but to stomp one’s foot to the beat and to listen carefully to every note coming from each instrument to understand how these boys from Maine get their authentic roots sound.
Title track “Lights Along The River” is another dandy of a duet. Handsome, lonesome vocals support each other and enhance the song with an extra smooth layer of heft. Speedy acoustic guitar picking, a banjo injection, and rangy pedal steel make this song travel and reflect at the same time.
Moving into feistier material, the boys plays “Rocking Chair” with the energetic tossing of a mechanical bull, at full speed. It chugs with the best kind of country rock, the kind rooted in sounds and textures that lodged into the American collective unconscious a hundred years ago while adding to its lexicon over the last century. Raw, emotive vocals and flinty, sparking guitar lines form an explosive potential it constantly threatens to reach as the organic power of each instrument contrasts each other with fiery passion.
“Sam Wood” ambles along a down tempo country groove from a pushy bass line adorned with flinty, salty banjo notes. There is nothing like a song so gritty that one can picture the banjo player hitting each and every one of those tasty notes. The lead vocal swaggers without seeming to try to. It just speaks of direct truths with a hearty resolve that leaves no doubt that someone in the band based this on an actual experience. It’s also interesting how the drums smack the song forward with their steady aplomb and sudden bursts of rolls and fills.
“Coronado” is a sweet ditty sing along that pulls one right into its affectionate reverie with its warm vocal duet. Its quieter mix of acoustic instrumental grit makes the whole album feel even and smooth. Yet, it’s still packed with the flinty, tasteful, emotive musicianship and meaningful vocal work that makes this entire album a brisk ride through a scenic county.
A sandpapery lead vocal wraps around “The Irene” with handsome, sincere warmth, carrying it with a still water depth that doesn’t need to shout to make itself heard. It feels slightly like Gordon Lightfoot’s “The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald” it in narrative flow and power and epic delivery. Also, its working class hero imagery is startlingly vibrant, easy to picture in the mind’s eye, as the boys architect its mounting strength with instrumental power.
“Look Me Up When You Can” crosses the range with a down tempo glide, one that lets a slowly unfurling pedal steel haunt the imagination with its rangy, emotive reach. The listener is soon surrounded by a hefty weave of guitar lines that wander the song like tumbleweed, light, free, and natural. Numerous notes simultaneously ring out with beauty and clarity, making this another track you just can’t get enough of.
The boys close out with an old fashion style bar song called “Tip Up.” It’s part honky tonk in its attitude and delivery and part rock chorus anthem. After the seriousness of the previous tracks, lyrically and musically, it is wise for the band to close out with a bit of levity. The fun, winsome tune is also a hearty rocker, chockfull of their well exercised idioms.
Mallett Brothers Band have much to be proud of here. This Lights Along The River album upholds their reputation for writing and recording good, hearty Americana roots rock.
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