photos and review by Joseph Climer
New Madrid and The Tenants took to the stage at Proud Larrys’ Wednesday night, May 1st. This led to a night of good ole contemporary rock n’ roll, grounded firmly in the influential archaic sounds of the bands who have shared Larrys’ stage, long before them.
A blast from the past, with avant-garde shrapnel bound to take down anyone who was in the line of fire. And might I add, it was a solid crowd for the Wednesday before finals week. The Tenants, recently relocated from Oxford to Nashville, are a humble bunch of good ole boys with an antique sound that still blares a sense of originality. A delightful bunch on a mission to rebuild their own southern sound from scratch. Vocals were shared between the two guitarists, which resulted in a smooth blend of raspy folklore ballads to wailing old fashion rock ‘n roll. Catch one of their free shows around The Square (The Blind Pig, Ajax, Rooster’s) Follow them on Twitter, @The_Tenants and stream some tunes at www.reverbnation.com/btandthetenants.
New Madrid settled in Athens, Ga., a four-piece of galactic harmony, shadowed by southern earth tones. It was as if they recorded their album, Yardboat, in a spaceship drifting south of the Milky Way galaxy. Echoing waves of woah woahs driven by a distorted melody of dreams that ensue during a good night’s sleep after a hard days work. All four members howled like wolves at their full moon shaped microphones in perfect reverb overtone. You have every option, from dancing your shoes off to just closing your eyes and getting lost for a while, during tracks such as the refreshing, reverb fueled “Magnetoception,” to the beautifully crafted “Juniper” that will leave you with worthy neck cramps the next morning. Stream/purchase their first full length album, Yardboat, www.yardboat.com, Keep up with their tour and whatnot at www.facebook.com/newmadridband. And on Twitter at @newmdrd
