Review: Milwaukee Road

Not every band is a blockbuster or available at Amazon. Some of the best music is made by indie bands tucked away and popular perhaps only in the local bar crowd. This might sound a trite statement, but in the era of music hits, multi-million dollar bands, the RIAA et al, it is all the more important to remind ourselves that there are more than canned tracks and three chord harmonies.

Two bands that I have found interesting are "Milwaukee Road" and "Tall". Tall is a Dallas-based band that has had one album released - catchy music that is something like a cross between Radiohead and Nirvana. The lead singer is able to convey a certain pathos without sounding maudlin. My favorite song of theirs is "You're My Machine" I will post their lyrics and a detailed review soon. They play in the Greenville Ave bar scene of Dallas - or at least they did so when I was last there.

Milwaukee Road is a trio of accomplished blues-rock musicians who have one album out called "Way Outta Line" and will be releasing a second in Spring 2005. Their music is redolent of Mike Bloomfield, John Lee Hooker and other great blues-rock musicians.

The first song on the album is titled "Dimples" and Jim Harsh, part of the band, whom I interviewed for this review, tells me that it is a cover of the old John Lee Hooker song of the same name. It is ramped up and modernized quite a bit, and has powerful riffs.

The title song, "Way Outta Line" is one of the best. Jim shared with me that it was inspired by an ex-girlfriend of his who cheated on him while he worked third-shift. When he asked her why she did so, she told him it was because she could not carry her own canoe. One night, Jim took out his saw, and hacked the canoe in half, giving her one half. This is captured in the last line of the song - "Who's canoe with you?".

Article Author: Aaman Lamba

Aaman Lamba is a Blogcritics editor, as well as the Publisher of Desicritics.org, a Blogcritics network site covering media, politics, culture, sports and more with a global South Asian focus

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