There are certain bands I remember seeing play at clubs and bars back in my youth, but also at summer street festivals and the like. Though of all those bands that I saw and heard at such venues over the years never once did I buy their record. The reason could have been because I only had enough money to get drunk on, or that I just couldn’t see as going home to listen to a band that I heard live, play on a CD. It was because to me most of those acts seemed like what I deem as live acts anyways. By this I mean that they seem to be a band that cannot properly be represented without the freedom to do whatever they want at any given moment. These were showmen who made records mostly because they had to in order to get gigs.
After listening to the Orange County rock trio Snake Oil Salesmen I got this impression. They are a band that deals in Americana, blues, punk, jazz and straight up rock on their latest eponymous release. The opening track “Easy Money” is a slapdash whirlwind of twang and punk. A sort of Texas tornado if you will. And though it sounds just fine on the stereo one can only imagine the possibilities of this song being let loose. Also doing covers is a great live stunt, which doesn’t always work out on the record. Case in point here is the band covering the Bowie classic “Moonage Daydream” which isn’t very exciting to hear recorded. As the man himself says, “Don’t fake it baby/lay the real thing on me.” However to eat my own words one song that worked for me and that I also think would be a trip to see performed live is “Facedown Part 2” with its swift changes in tempo and vocal breakdowns it demands the listeners’ attention causes that feeling one gets when they are suddenly caught up in something spectacular. Also worth noting songs that worked for me on both sides of the coin is the raucous, ass-kicking blues-rocker “Hapsburg Blues” and the slacker-rock closer “Loser” which shows the range that these guys are willing to take on, and making Snake Oil Salesmen a great seller for home or live listening.
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