review - The Hotshot Freight Train's We Are...

In every interview I’ve read with the HOTSHOT FREIGHT TRAIN, the band makes reference to the range of the members’ previous projects (including Knoxville stalwarts Atropos and Joey’s Loss) and then goes on to assert that the sound of HSFT is consciously separate from these earlier sensibilities; in fact, the rear sleeve of their debut EP We Are The Hotshot Freight Train dedicates an entire tongue-in-cheek paragraph-cum-press-release to mildly defensive soundbytes from each member concerning their professedly unclassifiable brand of rock. What’s so immediately striking about the band is that these claims are at once true and false, as The Hotshot Freight Train traffic in what can only be confidently classified as Modern Rock, simply because they draw from practically every sub-genre contained therein, very much including those paths well-worn by their previous groups. It follows, then, that their music is enjoyable but sadly undistinguished, and their wide musical vocabulary is occasionally overshadowed by cheesy songwriting choices (“Tonight”) and overly earnest (I’m consciously avoiding another “E” word here) vocals. But some of what HSFT throws at the wall sticks, particularly when they draw strongly on more creative influences like Trail Of Dead, Fugazi, and Hot Snakes, and especially in the final track, “Grace So Beautiful”, when vocalist Josh Tipton gives equal time to a terrifically effective throaty howl. The eight-song (!) EP, recorded by guitarist Greg Barker, gives the band a full sound while remaining as garagey as it needs to be, and is sure to be a well-received place marker as the band finds its own sound.

RIYL: listening to rock radio

MP3: "Grace So Beautiful" (4:29)

review - Scott Miller & The Commonwealth's Citation

SCOTT MILLER has long been Knoxville’s prodigal son du jour, from his stellar work with the still-missed V-Roys to his more recent solo outings with the Commonwealth, and the persistent accolades his twangy, grassy rock n’ roll has garnered are hard-earned and well-deserved; Miller’s knack for country-flavored guitar pop songwriting falls second only to his flawless East Tennessean croon, and his work remains peppered with unmistakable regional character even as he stands poised for continued national recognition. It’s unfortunate, then, that Citation (his third record with the ever-rotating Commonwealth) lacks the inspired verve of earlier records, scaring up diminishing returns on well-worn musical and lyrical themes. “Wild Things”, for instance, milks the last mileage out of a variation on a guitar melody that’s been hanging around since the days of the V-Roys, and “The Only Road” fumbles the sincere gravity of Miller’s historical song-stories, steering the sentiment towards the schmaltzy and the predictable. Luckily the Sam Houston bio-tune“Say Ho” fares better, drawing strength from its source material and Miller’s disappointment in a perceived betrayal by Tennessee of one of its greatest sons. Of the most interest here is an indistinct political dabbling, on the clumsy but well-intentioned satire of “8 Miles A Gallon” and the lively “Jodie”, in which a deployed solider chides a cuckolding friend. (Curiously, Neil Young cover “Hawks And Doves” has little but praise for the United States.) In the end the record is a well-recorded and intentioned minor work, and if nothing else it’s a credit to Miller that it’s surprising and a little disappointing that there aren’t twice as many whistling-two-days-later hooks.

RIYL: Steve Earle, Son Volt, Appalachian rock

MP3: "Only Everything" (3:07)

Article expanded from the KNOXVILLE VOICE, where I accidentally identified "Summons" as the song that sounds like Bryan Adams, when it's actually "Freedom's A Stranger."