Album review: HONEY ISLAND SWAMP BAND – Demolition Day

Ruf [Release date 08.07.16]

Honey Island Swamp Band take their name from the Eastern part of Louisiana, a bayou area that infuses their music with a broad based outlook.

It’s rare in the rock/blues world to come across an album that brings together contrasting elements of vitality, energy and originality with subtle textures and familiar retro elements, on a set of songs that linger after just one play.

It’s even rarer for a band on their fourth studio album and celebrating their tenth anniversary to come up with such a tightly focused piece of work.

‘Demolition Day’ jumps out the grooves with a melange of roots-rock, blues, funk, country, soul and Americana. The 11 tracks bristle with wide ranging roots music that draws together such diverse influences such as The Stones, the Meters, The Band, Little Feat and fleetingly The Grateful Dead, on the extended ‘Another Day’.

The key to the album’s appeal is the way the band and their producer Luther Dickinson make everything seem fresh and alive.

Dickinson glues everything together with svelte touch that highlights individual solos, while emphasising an essential flow.

You can even forgive the band the fact that they open with the Stones influenced ‘How Do You Feel’, complete with a stolen Keith Richard riff, a Bobby Keys style sax break and an overall ‘Exile On Main Street’ vibe. It all neatly mirrors their own loose feel at the heart of some well crafted songs.

In between the cracks, there’s a jam band, that with the exception of the beautifully nuanced ‘Through Another Day’, sticks rigorously to the arrangements, almost in spite of itself.

Honey Island Swamp Band originally hails from New Orleans and relocated to the West coast because of Hurricane Katrina, an event recalled on the rolling funky groove of ‘Head High Water Blues’, the lyrics of which give the album its title.

You can hear their original influences on tracks like the swampy ‘Watch & Chain’, which is built round a slide, electric piano and horn axis. Then there’s the funky ‘Head High Water Blues’,

Nothing is forced, as the grooves bubble up and the solos remain an integral part of the song. The whole album drips with an aching feel and moments of real inspiration

You can feel the band’s relentless drive on the mellifluous ‘No Easy Way’, which opens as a mournful slow blues with Chris Mule’s slide guitar over a muted horn section. It then quickly transforms itself into a seamless groove with a fine vocal from Aaron Wilkinson, before it’s book-ended by the same slide and horn combination, complete with an expected coda.

‘Medicated’ is different again, with a soulful feel that taps into the retro soul-blues vein that has recently seen a significant revival. In the context of this album though, it sounds a little contrived as a shoe-in.

The down-home, rustic feel of ‘Katie’ evokes Lowell George and Little Feat, while the train-time, soft brush strokes of the humorous ‘She Goes Crazy’, adds the deftest N’Orleans horn arrangement imaginable.

Vocalist Aaron Wilkinson attacks the material with expressive phrasing that keeps the tracking fresh and new. The band is also consistently attentive and supportive to the song at hand, rather than stretching out pieces for the sake of it.

They evoke The Band -arguably their biggest influence – on the gentle caress and understated rootsy feel of ‘Say It Isn’t True’ and round things off with ‘Devils Den’, on which they are joined by the ethereal lap steel tones of special guest Tab Benoit.

‘Demolition Day is a fine album by a band constantly in search of new ideas. Their artistic hunger should reap them rich reward. ****

Review by Pete Feenstra

Pete Feenstra presents his Rock & Blues Show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio every Tuesday at 19:00 GMT, and “The Pete Feenstra Feature” on Sundays at 20:00

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.

Next session: Sunday 19 January

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 1 December 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 3 December 2024.

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)