The Revivalists – Pour It Out Into the Night
Based out of New Orleans — songs touch upon self-belief (confidence), a zest for life & what’s life-affirming. Optimistic songs. What a change. This 5th effort Pour It Out Into the Night (Drops June 2–Concord Records) are 12 songs produced by Grammy Award winner Rich Costey. The 8-piece band navigates soulful alt-rock waters with a distinctive mix of American classic rock styles.
While there’s nothing innovative the band is a blue-ribbon attraction because their ingenuity, creativeness & how they apply it all to their tight arrangements is compelling. They possess a full sound, lots of steady variants & unlike many lead vocalists David Shaw has a degree of originality in his showcase.
Other bands have explored this territory, but they just followed a recipe & never added anything to keep the vigor exhilarating. “Don’t Look Back,” has a 50’s echo that harnesses the tradition with respectable venom. Bands forget they have to add spice to make their musical dishes stand out. Musicianship alone doesn’t work. The Revivalists are chefs in a world-class kitchen.
Shifting to a slower groove “Good Old Days,” is far more interesting than its cliched title. It’s a well-chiseled melody. It’s been a long time since I heard basic rock music performed with no sugary lamentations. The 80s gave us lots of diabetic music. “Eye of the Tiger?” that’s not rock music.
The Revivalists add muscle, there’s a little bourbon in the pastry & gunpowder for tang. “Down In the Dirt,” is folk-driven & works especially well with their driving accessibility. Nice Townes van Zandt style hooked up to a Steve Earle generator. Can’t spite their effort to reinvent several genres with their own character & personality. Their insistence on mining an optimistic mindset is also commendable.
The band needs to work on more original imaginative song titles. These are juvenile, elementary, or used before. The individual songs are far better than their titles suggest. There was a famous 1979 song by The Pretenders called “Kid.” I thought it was a cover of that. The majority are all good songs including their original “Only You,” (not The Platters’ classic 1955 hit) but a nice soulful addition.
Highlights – “Kid,” “Don’t Look Back,” “Good Old Days,” “Down In the Dirt,” “The Long Con” & “Only You.”
Musicians – David Shaw (guitar/lead vocals), Zach Feinberg (guitar), Andrew Campanelli (drums), George Gekas (bass), Ed Williams (pedal steel guitar), Rob Ingraham (sax), Michael Girardot (keys/trumpet) & PJ Howard (drums/percussion).
Color photo courtesy of Alysse Gafkjen. CD @ iHeart & https://found.ee/TR_PourItOut