Psychedelta by GravelRoad

Gravelroad: Psychedelta

Elsewhere in this issue, Gravelroad’s Stefan Zillioux lays into the “predictable 12-bar” nature of modern blues, and the “fannypack-wearing” punters who support it. It’s fighting talk bordering on hubris, but the Seattle trio’s vision of an alternative is thrillingly demonstrated by third album Psychedelta. Granted, these 10 tracks have the whiff of blues students who have done their homework – Keep On Movin’, for instance, reworks the lyrics of a genuine chain-gang chant. Yet it’s never cloyingly reverential or mired in the past, with riffs like Nobody Get Me Down and Deep Blues so pugnacious they make Jack White sound polite, and the ‘psyche’ element supplied by woozy, bloodshot-eyed moments like the guitar solo of Devil Eyes and the slow-burning Caves. Recent years backing Mississippi blues tyrant T-Model Ford have evidently given Gravelroad added lead in their pencil. Best of all, at a time when Justin Bieber’s Believe will cost you £12.99 on Amazon, Psychedelta is available to stream – in full and for free – on the band’s website. No excuses, then. (9/10) CLASSIC ROCK

GravelRoad is a Seattle band that seamlessly blends the trance of North Mississippi Hill Country Blues with the fuzz and power of heavy rock and roll.

gravelroadblues.com