Amplified Heat

How Do You Like The Sound of That (Arclight)
By Craig Regala

First waxing from the three brothers since the reish of the very-limited self-titled EP. Amplified Heat deal in high-octane, well-heeled “burr-under-the-saddle” blues attack rock and roll. Merging the ass-on-fire late ’80s early ’90s contingent (Tailgators, Los Gringos, Rev. Horton Heat) with the chops/stroll of classique Cream, Stevie Ray Vaughn, John Mayall ‘n’ Johnny Winter for the generation raised on the Mudhoney/Blues Explosion side of the alt/indie whatever-the-fuck thing.

How Do You Like The Sound of That is edited for song power and is as perfect as a live-in-the-living-room-with-practice-amps thing might ever be. Energetically avoiding mushy “heaviness” or rote bar band shuffling, this record has a stinging burn that you can’t get from overload technology, it’s gotta be from the guitar attack of playing very quickly with a biting tone and towering blues folk ability. If anyone’s got blisters on their fingers from the speed/heat of the moment, it’s these guys.

The song that belongs in Jimmy Page’s iPod: “Though and Through.” The song that belongs in an iPod commercial: “Moonshine.” The song that I thought was a Canned Heat cover: “She Drank that Wine.” The song I’ll probably wreck (another) car to: “Amplified boogie.” It’d be great to hear’m cover a non-blues tune and root out the riff and go bonkers, say The Birthday Party’s “Dead Joe” or The Godfathers’ “This Damn Nation.” This is one of the five best live bands I’ve seen, and I’ve been going to shows since the Nuge/Black Oak Arkansas bell-ringer in ’78 in Buffalo.

As I said, if your bus stops for ’70s ZZ Top records, Hognose, The Brought Low, The Groundhogs, the Black Keys, or Dixie Witch, have a beer and a shot and get with it.
(www.arclightrecords.com)