Vandoliers: Ameri-Kinda
- Frog Gentleman
- Aug 5, 2015
- 3 min read
(photo by Mike Brooks)
Tasting Notes: Southern folk rock with hints of bluegrass and lingering punk essence
Pairs Well With: Maker's Mark, easy ice.
I'm always nervous to hear when musicians who cut their teeth on rock and roll turn a corner. For every Beastie Boys there seems to be at least two Dee Dee Kings. Making an earnest effort to stretch out as a musician and songwriter is a risky proposition with a high failure rate, as good intentions don't always translate into good songs. Sometimes you get License To Ill, most times you get Standing In The Spotlight.
As much as I respect Joshua Fleming as a musician I have no doubt that were he to have put out a hip hop album I would have found my ears thoroughly assaulted by well intentioned mediocrity. Thankfully Mr. Fleming has spared us all this indignity and instead picked up an acoustic and a very expensive Stetson to launch Vandoliers and their debut album Ameri-Kinda. As music fans, we are all the better for it.
Ameri-Kinda plays out more like a seasoned band striding confidently across well worn trails than a fledgling unit being led unsteadily onto foreign soil. This bravado can be equally attributed to Fleming's proven chops as a songwriter, as it can to the cast of musicians who have rallied to the cause. When you're writing songs that attract the attention, and interest, of members of The O's, Whiskey Folk Ramblers, Vinyl, The Happy Bullets, and Armadillo Creek you can safely assume you're doing something right.
There's definitely a lot being done right in these songs. Each track has a unique identity, with clever hooks well arranged embellishments. Spanish horns, fiddle, banjo, piano, and electric organ are used to great effect to punctuate already solid songs. Lyrically the album sticks with tried and true themes: Good women, bad boys, and intoxicants. A thin thread of Southern religious terror helps tie everything together. This adds an air of authenticity as any song about a destructive lifestyle holds more weight when you know the singer is fully cognisant of their "sins". As a whole the album is a great time, but these brief allusions to divine judgement add an appreciable weight to the proceedings. Despite the added gravitas the album moves along at a brisk pace that encourages repeat listenings. When the last notes of "Sinner Like Me" play out you're definitely left wanting more. In fact that may be the album's biggest weakness. As much as I enjoy the time I've spent with Ameri-Kinda I can't help feeling like I want just a little bit more out of it. One more song, one more chorus of "Runaway Sons", just more of everything. Of course that just means I'm going to press play again, which is far more preferable than feeling drained by the experience.
Minor quibbles about brevity notwithstanding it's very easy to get lost in the narrative of each song. "Hank" is brilliant gender swapped take on "A Boy Named Sue", "Joy Ride" extols the virtues of motorbikes and the women who love them, and then there's "Wild Flower"... Seriously, if this song alone doesn't make The Vandoliers a household name within the year I give up on music.
Hyperbole aside I will be honestly disappointed if this record doesn't find receptive ears. If the world at large can glean half as much enjoyment as I have while listening to Ameri-Kinda then Fleming and company will be able to afford all of the fine headwater their hearts desire.
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