Some Kind Of Muffin

I was overjoyed when Scott Woeckel of Gentleman Road reached out to me and asked if I wanted to hear an advanced copy of their soon to be released EP. I’m not a huge fan of country in general, though that’s been changing recently, but I am a huge fan of Gentleman Road. They are, for me, Alt Country without the Alt. I know, weird way to describe it, but it is what it is. I always get a little early 90’s alt-vibe from these guys and yet, there is not an alternative riff to be heard.

Fireflies & Gasoline is 5 songs of grade A material. From track 1, “Love About Music”, to track 5, “The Trucker”, I was thoroughly entertained and felt as if I was really picking up what these guys were putting down. The musicianship is there and Gentleman Road is a tight outfit. The lyrics were imminently relatable and I could grasp were the band was coming from. Let’s jump in and get a little more in depth. 

Love About Music jumps right in with a quick intro and then is down to business. It has a great beat and a great hook in the chorus. I feel like I’m in a honky tonk listening to a band. I can picture the wooden support posts, the dance floor, and the audience dancing and having a good time. It also features some amazing pedal steel work by Charlie Peterson.

Buick Century keeps the groove moving and I can still see people dancing to it, but it has a more sentimental and nostalgic feel. Gentleman Road really evoke days of a recent past.

Moonshine seems primed for audience sing along with it’s longer flowing chorus. It’s the kind of song that makes me want to sit on my porch with a beer in the sun and just soak it in.

Fireflies & Gasoline slows things down a bit, but fret not. It’s a good time to just groove and enjoy the pedal steel created mood and listen to a beautiful turn of phrase. This song highlights one of the things I also like about Gentleman Road; inventive phrase that immediately evoke an image and a feeling.

The Trucker drives it all home and drives us to the end of the EP. I love the drum beat on this one. It’s more of a classic country boogie vibe than some of the other songs. Also, any song that features the words “18 wheeler” is golden. That’s a scientific fact.

This is a great EP with just the best songs on it. There is no filler. I was left wanting though as I would love to have a full album by these guys. I can only hope that they have enough success to fund a larger project. To that end I highly recommend throwing your money at them, or at least purchase this EP when it’s available. BTW it will be available on VINYL. That’s right. Great songs AND vinyl. You can’t lose.

Give Moonshine a listen here: https://gentlemanroad.bandcamp.com/track/moonshine

Gentleman Road is: Scott Woeckel, Charlie Peterson, Moose McMains, Michael Kaufman

Linkage:

https://www.facebook.com/Gentlemanroad

http://www.gentleman-road.com/

https://twitter.com/GentlemanRoad

Gentleman Road was formerly Everyday Ghost. I interviewed Scott from them here.

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