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Joel R.L. Phelps and the Downer Trio
Along with Robert Mercer (guitar, bass) and William Herzog (drums, bass), Phelps likes to go by the handle of The Downer Trio, interchanging that name with his own both live and on record. Sure, there's an agenda behind the name, and it is indicative of the music that Phelps and co. make - but not entirely. And that appears to be the point. Phelps has long suffered the easy classification as an electrified Nick Drake, a mopey, fatalistic Pollyanna in verse. But if you don't hear inspiration in Phelps' songs, and take affirmation away from them, well, maybe you're too happy to be bothered with such things. More than any other Phelps release, Blackbird is inspiring in it sadness, soothing in its frontal guitar pummel. As you may have guessed by now, Blackbird is Phelps' most paradoxical record to date - and even that's a paradox, 'cause it's also his most direct statement since seceding from his former outfit, Silkworm, some 4 years ago.
From the cone-crunching opening notes of Blackbird's lead-off track "Then Slowly Turn", to the desperate lilt of "Lost Continent" fans of the stand-up-and-be-counted directness of seminal influences like Neil Young and The Who will do just that. The Trio play with obvious urgency, a need to force the notes out before they melt their insides. Instead, they'll melt your heart - if you let them.
Joel RL Phelps and his Downer Trio will take to the road this fall. You'd be hard pressed to experience a more vital live outfit this year.
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