ALBUM REVIEW: You Hear Georgia – Blackberry Smoke
The US state of Georgia has, for many decades now, had a rich inspiration on most genres we hear today. Whilst over the world, the sounds have been incorporated as influence, growing up in the South has meant those rich tones are a little less undiluted. One Georgia band, BLACKBERRY SMOKE, have been blending these styles with their own hints of rock to steal the hearts of everyone they can. Now, the band pay homage to their home and challenge misconceptions about the South of the US with their brand new album, You Hear Georgia.
Setting the album off with rough around the edges funk-driven riffs and upbeat gospel backing vocals, Live It Down serves as possibly one of the strongest songs to date. The rhythm and grooves that envelope around vocalist Charlie Starr‘s make the perfect vibe for a summer festival anthem, with a drink in hand and great company at your side, this is how you open an album.
That upbeat tone follows through with great pride throughout most of the album, whether it’s the bottleneck slides, the fuzzy riffs or the tumbling keys of the piano, each little piece falls in like a jigsaw. Hey Delilah, although calmer than the mammoth entry, is one of the greater examples in how integral southern-rich sounds are when it comes to making something fairly simple, into a delicately balanced classic.
The southern influence in BLACKBERRY SMOKE‘s sound can not only build layers of style, but it also has the ability to adjust the mood of songs, despite using the same techniques. Ain’t The Same and Lonely For A Living (feat. Jamey Johnson) do the exact same things that preceding the albums upbeat songs do, yet how the band execute them in a completely different manner add a more melancholy tone. Most notably Lonely For A Living is where the real influence of blues shines through, and how the style itself helped craft the indulgent sounds of southern-country music, and why it goes hand in hand with rock.
Old Enough To Know follows suit with similar textures and tones, however serves dangerously as a way to indulge in your more solemn emotions. Despite this, having the rock side of the band’s sound scaled back allows you to really sit and appreciate just how beautiful country music can be, given the chance. Country as a genre can be often overlooked but here BLACKBERRY SMOKE make it impossible to turn away from.
This band are proud of their roots, and despite being prominent in their sound since their beginnings, as the album closes with full-speed All Over The Road and the grooves and mammoth chorus of Old Scarecrow, it’s evident to see that this is them pushing them to the forefront with the most might.
There’s a fine line between rock and country fans, to get the balance of both just right is a bit of a tough task when you’re constantly hearing the ‘too much’, but BLACKBERRY SMOKE is a band who have consistently got it down. You Hear Georgia is another dazzling example of just how they do that, but this release really pushes any limit they have done before. Despite there being a couple of moments that don’t stand out, there is no doubt that BLACKBERRY SMOKE‘s You Hear Georgia has made country fans happy, rock fans happy and Georgia proud.
Rating: 8/10
You Hear Georgia is out now via 3 Legged Records/Thirty Tigers.
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