Entertainment
Critics Corner: Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears
Austin, Texas based soul man Black Joe Lewis sings like James Brown and Wilson Pickett in a shouting match, and if that weren’t enough, his backup band, the Honeybears, deliver the mean retro funk better than anyone out there. The eight piece band, led by the irrepressible Joe Lewis, has come storming out of the gates with their debut, "Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is." The band was a huge hit this summer at South by Southwest show in Texas where new bands can really make a name for them. Now they appear poised to conquer the rest of the world.
The most fitting name I can give to their music is punk soul. Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears come at you with the kind of energy and aggression usually reserved for only the most committed punk bands, and their soul groove is deep and fierce. The bands rhythm section knows how to lay down a wicked groove and the band know how to play together as a unit. Although it could easily pass for an album from the late ‘60s or early ‘70s, "Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is" will be on my best of 2009 list. It’s all killer, no filler, that jumps right out at you from the speakers.
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Three Days Grace has become a radio favorite. Anytime I turn on my local rock station they spin up "Riot" or some other easily identifiable single to sing along with. So, I step into this review with a certain sense of the band. I have both of their previous albums and have seen them in concert. I like them, but I certainly don’t love them. Still, the new album "Life Starts Now" has to be worth at least a few listens, right? I’m still mixed on that sentiment. Right off the bat, I could tell you’re not going to find too many surprises. It’s business as usual for the Canadian rock group. It’s everything you come to expect from the band: attacking guitar riffs, the angry easily relatable lyrics, and overproduced sound. I do appreciate lead singer Adam Gontier’s singing style. This was not a hard album to sit down and listen to. In fact, it was easy to put it on and forget about it because it sounds exactly like the rest of their work. Three Days Grace fans looking for more of the same are going to be pleasantly pleased that their favorite band hasn’t strayed too far from their style and sound. Anyone looking for some maturity and progression from the band, like me, is going to be disappointed. As one of the more highly anticipated albums coming out this fall, this one hit the toilet with a devastating plunk.
(Mike Haddin is the owner and operator of Imagine Music, New Castle. )
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