Blues Brother Castro |
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There’s an energetic fury that seems to preface Money Maker Me, the new album from the Amsterdam band Blues Brother Castro. You click the play button, which introduces a few seconds of loose rock sleaziness, and then bam! – suddenly, it’s a battle of volume, spirit and squealing guitars.
Of course there’s a strong market for rock music that’s so vibrant and alive that it in turn makes the listener’s adrenalin surge. The Thermals have the most stripped down corner of the market covered, and then there are the major label faux sensations such as Jet who are programmed to make us all think we’re alive when really we’re actually running to hide. Well, Blues Brother Castro feels like the real thing. Their sound is more layered than that of The Thermals. Technically the musicianship is stronger too. Still, they got their passion down on tape, and when you play Money Maker Me loudly and the music surges, you can feel your body reacting along with it.
It’s not just a carefree blast, though. Tracks like ‘Drunken Boy’ and ‘Loaded Gun’ launch on riffs that are so sleazy they’re almost fluid, but there is a stiffer, more structured approach too. A good example of that is on ‘Dress’ which builds slower and has more in common with the indie-rock of a band like Idlewild than straight out rock‘n’roll, but it’s still massively infectious. ‘Want To’ also manages to maintain the pace of the album, but with less of an aural blast, it adds some additional dynamics.
The vocal performance of guitarist and singer Leon also sits well throughout, and he seems to lose the plot whenever it’s needed most. Add the crucial backing vocals from bassist Mila and you have some great rock harmonies that carefully tread the line between being effective and not over-the-top.
Then, before you know it, the album is over and there’s no time left for disappointment. Sure, some songs have more highlights than others but there is no real criticism to be made. In fact, I haven’t heard any other Dutch act produce such an energetic performance on record so far this year.
Steven McCarron
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