The Scoundrel - gifthorse

The Scoundrel

Gifthorse
self-released; 2014

3.6 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

Located in Jackson, MS, That Scoundrel is a three-piece consisting of John Schenk, (guitar/vocals) Adam Barkley (bass/vocals) and Tam Tran (drums) that recently released their second full-length entitled Gifthorse. Gifthorse is a pretty straightforward rock album that gives you solid songwriting and a good ole fashioned band playing in a room together. There aren't any bells and whistles. What you see is what you get and for the rock ‘n roll purist this is an album you will want to check out. 

The EP kicks off with a shot of adrenaline called “Nice Things” that tips its hat to grunge bands like Soundgarden and Alice In Chains. There is an immediate visceral reaction when you hear the crunch of the guitar and they harmonize and shout, “Baby you would be a jumbo jet / Just because you're breathing it doesn't mean you're living / Here's a heart shaped shit for your ills.” The song comes with a certified badass guitar solo – ‘nuff said.

“Bell Song” has a smidge of a blues influence that sounded good. The song rocks as they plow through a couple of intricate timing changes. Is there anything better than a distorted bass? Well probably a couple of things but I did enjoy the extra grit and 3rd order harmonics. 

Ok so I immediately had a bias for the song “Cadillac with Suicide Doors” because the name itself is flat out money. Not too much of a surprise that it almost holds up to the name. Really great drumming on this one.

Gifthorse is a solid album with a mixed bag of songs that were enjoyable. By the end I was a bit exhausted but overall the ride was well worth it