Luther Russell - Repair

Genre rock Publisher Ungawa/Adrenaline Records External Links Official Luther Russell Website Official Adrenaline Records Website

Acoustic music, in general, isn't my thing. I tend to find it a bit boring and plodding, overall. So imagine my surprise when I found myself quite in love with Luther Russell's new release Repair. Acoustic, poppy blues with a thick electric bass in the background, and I'm hooked.

I really can't find anything bad to say about this album. The first track, particularly "Rise and Shine" is forever stuck in my head; it's got a catchy hook of a chorus, a general good beat and fun lyrics. Russell's voice is mid-range and smooth, flowing well with dual guitar melodies and a nice thumping blues bass in the background. Lyrical delivery is tight and on beat at all times, further syncing the music together.

There's obvious classic rock influences here; Eric Clapton comes to mind almost immediately, but in a couple of tracks I seem to here a bit of the darker, newer blues-ish style of bands like Murder By Death. Russell does an excellent job of being influenced by past artists without ripping them off.

The production of the album adds a lot to it as well; it's not perfect, and there's times where you can hear a bit of grain behind the music. But it seems to add to sound instead of taking away from it, giving it a more down-to-earth, meaningful overtone.

The music, in general, is fairly simple, and it works perfectly. It doesn't need to be complicated to be good, and the songs on Repair showcase that excellently. Simple drum beats, low, slow bass lines and mellow acoustic rhythms all form together and paint a wonderful picture for each song.

I really can't get enough of this album. I think I'll be singing along to it for weeks to come, and even after that still have a good chunk of the songs stuck in my head. Kudos to you, Luther Russell, for showing me not all acoustic music is boring.