It's a special thing when talented musicians come together for the common purpose of making great music and creating art. Such is the case with a debut album released this week by an act made up of veteran artists who have experienced the ups and downs of a musicians life, and have shown that their passion for this business cannot be denied.
The Loudermilks are an act based out of North Carolina and are named in honor of the legendary Ira and Charlie Loudermilk (aka, the Louvin Brothers). Members of the band include brothers Alan (vocals, mandolin) and Chad Edwards (vocals, guitar), Jason Atkins (piano, organ), Shawn Lynch (vocals, bass), and Mike Kenerly (drums). This four-man band captures the essence of the roots/Americana sound, as their diverse musical styles shine through on this album. The lead track, "Watch 'Em Fall" starts off acousitcally with a beautiful mix of guitar and mandolin, soon followed by haunting pedal steel backed by an electric organ. The harder edged "Quite Honestly" highlights the rougher side of The Loudermilks, showing the diversity of this talented band.
"Come Along With Me" is a raucous number tailor-made for Saturday night at the honky-tonk. One of the real highlights on the album is the beautifully written and performed "Everybody Knows You", a tale of longing and wishful thinking. What sets The Loudermilks apart from a lot of other acts, is their ability to move seemlessly from their ballad side to their rocking side with absolutely no effort. "Broken Record" is a song that features heavily on electric guitar, which is followed up by the haunting "Jim Dugan", which is subsequently followed up by the quirky "What It Is."
The songwriting credits are split between brothers Alan and Chad Edwards. Together, along with their bandmates, The Loudermilks have crafted a solid record that's been released in time for summer road trips, patios or just relaxing at home listening to some solid music. A great cross between Canadian roots group Blue Rodeo and Americana stalwarts The Bottle Rockets, this self-titled debut represents a great starting point for this North Carolina band who should be on their way to a long and storied career. Check out The Loudermilks web site for tour dates and to purchase the album
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