Road Dog 2019
Finishing up his hat-trick run, British guitarist shakes some action en route to satisfaction.
Meets The Dominators
…At The Dyed Roots Of Blues Rock
Should the title of this album resemble those of old road movies, the pieces under its hood add to Jamie Thyer’s usual easy rider mood. He might pick up where "Cafe Racer" left off, yet “Meets The Dominators” would take the singing axeman further down the line. Kickstarting the record with “3D Jones” whose heavy, high-octane riffs drive the listener to the red zone, Thyer goes for the jugular but doesn’t stray too far from a rock ‘n’ roll lane which is wide enough to encompass an array of solos and vignettes whose intricate, filigree licks defy the track’s relative brevity. It may take claps and stomp for “My Own Company” to give groove a serious twist and a slider caress for “Might-Have-Been” to turn regret into triumph, although there’s no even a slightest need for vocals to chime on “Rattletake Snail” – a good-humored, hectic homage to the likes of “Oh Well” – and “Frigid Air” where organ waves lap against the strum before Jamie’s six strings are let loose to soar.
All of this is, as suggested by the album’s subtitle, deeply rooted in tradition, what with the ruminative Dick Dale-esque twang of “Wicked City” or infectious Diddley beat behind “On My Way” which try to get off the leash only to be reined in for harder impact, and that’s what Jamie adds to the classic template – something uniquely his own, something that feels increasingly defined with every new record in the artist’s cache. So there’s a reason for the panache oozing out of “Put Your Guitar Down” and making such rumble ‘n’ stumble quite sweet, before honeyed blues carry “Can You Hear?” beyond the red zone’s rave, elevating the deceptively simple emotions to a heavenly level. The reckless boogie gallop of “Rough Rider” seems to be the only way from there down to Earth where the action is – to shake it some more. Rev up and follow.
*****
