Monday , March 18 2024

Music Premiere: Brother Reverend – ‘Another Hand’ Is First-Rate

Brother Reverend premieres “Another Hand” today on Blogcritics. The track is from their album The Tables Turn Too Often.

Formulated in Atlanta and actually implemented in NYC, Brother Revered is made up of Keith Xenos (vocals, guitar) and Fletcher Liegerot (drums), along with an assortment of musicians. The band’s influences include Bob Dylan, Ray Davies, Curtis Mayfield, and the Beach Boys upbeat tempos, only with hints of decay and shadows running through it.

The band’s sound is difficult to pigeonhole because it’s eclectic and encompasses just about everything under the sun. If pressed, I’d define them as stylish alt rock, but the term doesn’t do their sound justice.

“I don’t think we belong to any particular genre because our influences are myriad, but there are certain melodies and scales that I intentionally avoid when writing songs. Everything has to pass the ‘Ray Charles Test,’ meaning that if I can’t imagine him singing a version of it, then it gets scrapped,” says Keith.

“Another Hand” opens with a country hoe-down-bluesy-alt-rock flavor, twangy and slightly discordant, like Bob Dylan testing the sonic boundaries. Another way to describe it would be: Mississippi mud blues performed by The Kinks with Keith Richards on lead guitar. In other words, a little off-kilter but deliciously excellent.

The rhythm is raw, visceral, and potently simple. I love the unfinished sound of the drums and the dirty crash of the cymbals. A tumescent guitar solo, uncooked and bloody infuses the tune with intrinsically rudimentary tones bordering on burlesque pungency, like Jimi Hendrix messing around in his garage. It’s superbly grimy and gut-wrenching.

Xenos’ voice exudes authentic, effortless tones, along with comfy nonchalance. It’s reminiscent of Davies on “Sunny Afternoon,” emanating a scrumptious lazy application of timbres.

“Another Hand” is first-rate, pulsing with rough primitive energy atop the pressure of sooty harmonics. Brother Reverend has beau coup talent, which, combined with their ferocious creativity, makes them significant.

Follow Brother Reverend on their official site and Facebook.

About Randall Radic

Left Coast author and writer. Author of numerous true crime books written under the pen-name of John Lee Brook. Former music contributor at Huff Post.

Check Also

Bex Marshall

Music Review: Bex Marshall – ‘Fortuna’

On her first album in over 10 years, the blues-rocker's expressive vocals crackle with the years, while her guitar playing is if anything sharper than ever.