Horse Nation

A Tribute to the Life, Music, and Spirit of The Cult (Mudwax)
by Scott Hefflon

While I’ll give ’em points for originality – taking unknown bands from many genres and letting them pour it out, paying tribute to a great, spiritual rock band – I’ve got to deduct points cuz none of the bands are really all that good, and I like the original songs much, much better. While interesting, it’s just not good listening. The first track, however, is quite a find. The Swamp Candies evidently enlisted the help of Joe Lam (as if that means something to me) to cover “Peace Dog,” a soulful song to begin with, and they really take it the distance. Mixing looping, slacker-shuffle beats and a Lou Reedian guitar, all building into a full-on acoustic Zeppelin jam, complete with great, wildly vibrating vocals, this cover is worth getting. While it’s a magical song, like both Zep and The Cult, the repetition and free-form “yeah, yeah”s and “c’mon”s get a little tiresome by the end. My advice – get the single.
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