Cinematic noir and poetic storytelling with a rockabilly Ameripolitan edge.
Making their début in 2020 with their first full-length album, “Come On Angels”, the Philadelphia-based Mighty Joe Castro & The Gravamen announced themselves as an Ameripolitan rockabilly outfit. Now, with their new record, “Between The Lightning and The Thunder,” they take the listener on a noir-tinged journey through vintage rock ‘n’ roll, americana, and gothic storytelling. As front man Castro puts it, the intention was to create something cinematic, like “the dream logic of a David Lynch film.”
It’s a reverb-drenched landscape, full of vibrant tunes and arresting lyrics. All songs were written by Mighty Joe except for the closing track, an old Billy Joe Shaver ode to the underdog. Produced by Brian McTear and Amy Morrissey, and recorded in Philadelphia over a couple of years, most tracks feature the core lineup of guitars, upright bass, and drums, supplemented here and there with accordion, organ, or piano, and backing vocals.
A steady flow of singles preceded the full album. One of these is ‘Embers In The Ash’, which has a gentle, light touch, finding hope and resilience in the post-lockdown period it springs from. More sombre is ‘Dominoes’, which deals with the failure to live up to the expectations of others, perhaps here a parent. It has the ring of some bitter personal experience, with shades of Tom Waits, as does ‘Gone (When The Morning Comes)’, though in this case the writer seems relieved to be moving on, there being a distinctly celebratory feel to the track.
‘Look of Eagles’ is more typical rockabilly, and you can tell this is a band that tears it up at their live gigs in New York City and down the urban East Coast. Standout track, ‘Automatic Amnesia’, is also the longest, a noir-tinged odyssey set to throbbing bass, insistent percussion, and dripping with vocal and guitar effects. The lyrics read like a six-minute screenplay in this heart of darkness.
“At the Lorraine, it’s whisper down the lane
Little Joey’s gone, D.O.A
a bartender coughs, makes the sign of the cross
revenge is best served cold, they say”.
Castro puts in a solo performance on ‘The Future Gets Put Away’, a darkly romantic ballad. Following this is the cheery nostalgia of ‘The Dying Breed’, the contrast showing that Castro can turn out a respectable love song in more than one genre. ‘Let Me Take The Blame’ has some fine piano from Ian Vos, who also provides upright bass and backing vocals on some tracks, while Mike Stingle gets a chance to shine on guitar. Mention too, of Dallas Cantland on drums throughout, and Matt Hagele, who puts in upright bass on most tracks along with background vocals. These, too, from Margot Brevoort and the producers themselves. Max Datner and Julia Alford provide accordion.
Closing the album is a rockabilly version of Billy Joe Shaver’s ‘I’m Just an Old Chunk of Coal (But I’m Gonna Be A Diamond Someday)’, which seems like a great thought to leave us with.
