Years back, one of my favourite bands, Electric Boys, released an album called “Them Boys Done Swang”. They might have been talking about this.
Texas Headhunters’ second album, “Rise And Shine”, has swing to spare. Ian Moore, Johnny Moeller and Jesse Dayton are three guitarists who could comfortably spend an entire record showing off. What strikes you here, though, is just how much fun they have making these songs work.
“Cut N’ Run” gets things underway with a relationship heading for the exit. She’s going to leave him, but that’s alright. This is the blues, after all. There’s something wonderfully matter-of-fact about the whole thing, and the groove makes wallowing in self-pity seem like a waste of everybody’s time.
“Drive You Crazy” offers an invitation to “take a ride”, although you suspect you do so at your own risk. There’s a mischievous streak running through this record, and it’s never far from the surface. “Bigshot”, meanwhile, has the kind of swagger that John Fogerty himself would be proud of. These boys know their way around a riff, certainly, but they know what to do with it once they’ve found it, too.
“I Did It Anyway” is a spectacular anthem to bad choices. All that advice you’ve been given? All those things you know you probably shouldn’t do? Well, the title tells you how that worked out. Then it changes gear and becomes even more fun, as if the consequences can wait until tomorrow.
By the time “Favored Nation” arrives, you’re struck again by how marvellous these songs are. Fun, yes, but classy with it. Moore’s explanation of his influences offers a clue as to why. Growing up in Austin, he loved Howlin’ Wolf and Buddy Guy, but also the Jam, Rockpile and X. As he puts it: “If you go looking for the truth, you realize you aren’t just one thing; you’re a combination of everything.” You can hear that freedom throughout this album.
“Dogs Of Laredo” brings the outlaw gunslinger into view, writ large. There’s a character and a story here, and the music gives both room to breathe. The title track then feels like an anthem to the good times, almost gospel in its delivery, with the sort of communal spirit that makes you want to join in.
“That’s The Kind Of Fool I’ll Be” is so effortlessly classic that I actually went to Google to check whether it was a cover. “Truth is written as time goes by,” it offers, and there’s a warmth and familiarity here that makes it feel as though it’s been around forever.
“Funky So N So” is perfectly named and perfectly played, before “Long Ryder” closes things with a John Lee Hooker-style riff and an attitude to match. “Don’t tell me what you want, babe, I know what you need.” It’s all in those riffs. You rather think they do.
This could have been a trio of guitarists showing off. What it is instead is a wonderful record full of great songs, with more swing than a kids’ playground.
“Rise And Shine” is a hell of a wake-up call.
Rating: 9/10
