Fried Okra Band

Back Into The River

Written by: PP on 14/10/2015 21:44:39

Copenhagen-based blues rockers Fried Okra Band have reached fourth album with "Back Into The River". They play a brand of classic rock they've dubbed as northern flatland grooves, which is a fairly descriptive expression of how they actually sound like. They blend together bluesy, soulful southern state rock with lengthy experimental passages and ambiance-focused pieces like "Never Felt Lost" and integrate instruments like the diddley bow, mandolin, banjo, and special percussion into their sound. Unfortunately, the resulting expression very rarely reaches beyond yawn for yours truly.

The press release claims influence from The Black Keys and Jack White. Sure, Fried Okra Band explore similar territory with their music, with The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club being another relevant reference, but frankly the band lack the needed talent to execute an expression like this without the failures becoming glaringly obvious. For starters, the vocals are cringe-worthy. There's too much focus on forced soul and classic rock singer charisma that it never really feels natural or convincing. Secondly, the groove element in the guitar is overused, leading into songs that just sort of dwell around without going anywhere. As background music, it's passable, but put on a good pair of headphones and try to get through the 11 track and 37-minute album? Not a chance unless you're a sucker for the plucked mandolin/banjo and prairie inspired landscapes drawn up via instrumentals. For others, it's plain boring. At least "My Kind Of Woman" has a little bit of energy if you're not already asleep at this point.

Four albums down and "Back Into The River" is what Fried Okra Band can muster can only mean one thing: the band are mostly a band for themselves because they personally like playing this kind of music. Unfortunately, good intentions don't always lead to successful songs. "Back Into The River" is forgotten the moment it leaves your CD player.

4

Download: Who Is It For, My Kind Of Woman
For the fans of: The Black Keys, Jack White,
Listen: Facebook

Release date 25.05.2015
Target Records

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