THE SOLEDAD BROTHERS - VOICE OF TREASON

The first time I listened to The Soledad Brothers\' Voice Of Treason, I was like, \"Eh... whatever. Maybe I\'ll hand it off to another writer.\" But then I listened to it again, and realized that I hadn\'t really paid much attention to it the first time around. I knew I hadn\'t because the album is a goddamn work of art.
The Soledad Brothers are made up of guitarist Johnny Walker, drummer Ben Swank, and guitarist/sax blower (heh, heh) Oliver Henry. Together, these three have made a dirty little blues album that swings into the listener\'s ears, heading straight for their heart. And it worked, because it won me over.
It\'s part Stripes, part The Black Keys, part early Blues Explosion and Dub Narcotic Sound System, and a splash of Southern Culture On The Skids. \"Lay Down This World\" is a boot-stompin\', Southern-fried spiritual that\'ll put the Holy Spirit in you. \"Sights Unseen\" starts as a minimal kick drum tune peppered with almost chant-like vocals, but then it flips into a shit-kicking storm of power and guitar. And \"I\'m So Glad\" is a sweet little song that\'s heavy on the drums and light on the vocals-- and it features a xylophone!
Just because The Soledad Brothers are a trio doesn\'t mean they\'re minimal on sound. The noise these three kids make is bigger and more grand than the noise I made on November 3rd, and that\'s saying a lot. So if down-home blues and rock is your speed, you can\'t do much better than The Brothers Soledad. Of course, this is coming from a man that almost passed it along to someone else. So if you\'re not feeling it the first time around, go back, play it again, turn it up, and pay attention. You\'ll feel it. Trust me.