Well I guess you shouldn’t take some cover art too literally…
Southern Dawn play some nice Bluesy Rock with as you might imagine from the name a distinct ‘Southern Rock’ leaning and after hearing opener ‘One Night Bride’ I expect you’ll be wanting more, it’s nothing earthshaking but has a great vibe, nice vocals and wonderful guitar tone that makes you believe that these guys have far more in the tank.
‘Feed Your Fire’ that cuts in next has that wonderful sound that Blind Melon captured in their looser moments on that debut album, and in all honesty they aren’t a bad point of reference here.
As the album creeps on there’s a real sense of joy as the band nail each song without ever seemingly breaking a sweat in doing so. Indeed these Austrians sound rather cool and collected. ‘Point of Inflection’ adds a Little more urgency and ‘Last Indian’ positively shimmers as it tugs at the heartstrings. As you’re drawn deeper you realise the lo-fi Pearl Jam vibe going on amongst the Southern affectations and heartfelt reflections, and the crawl of songs like ‘Never Toein’ the Line’ really work so well.
‘Cracks in the Mirror’ works the Allman meets Pearl Jam-like groove well and ‘Dead Dog’ adds a shot of energy before ‘Penta (instrumental)’ shows that these guys know how to lay down a fat groove that can keep your attention even without vocal adornment.
The album rounds out with three of the best: ‘Drowning’ adds some grit and wail, and ‘Same Shit’ even sounds a bit like Australia’s own John Butler as the vocals riff against the riff; while ‘Ghost Train’ ends it all with an almost ZZ Top vibe and some of the best guitars on here.
Man this is good.