Eastern European bluesy americana.
Who knew that Croatia could and would produce a very credible bluesy americana band? In the wonderfully named She Brought Me Gasoline, it most definitely has. They are a four-piece band from Zagreb, fronted by Kristijan Kevesvic and “Songs From the Cliff” is their third album. The musical blend is a fascinating combination of the blues, swamp, and possibly Eastern European folk music.
The ten songs, all written by Kevesvic, have a very pleasant jangly guitar feel to them. ‘Row Row Row’ even has a whistling element and finishes off with what sounds like fireworks. They have added everything. Is kitchen sink americana a thing?
‘The Last Rocket’ starts off very much where Tony Joe White left off. With a slightly distorted vocal and a menacing harmonica, it could certainly have crawled from a Louisiana swamp. The song certainly grabs you. The guitar tuning on ‘Swirling Leaves’ is rather oddly reminiscent of Curved Air, with a prog rock feel to it. It has an unusually strange set of lyrics. Wondering what he would do with some of his last acts, such as girls, meals, drinks, and cigarettes, all of which seemed perfectly reasonable. However, halfway through this list comes the lyrics: “If I had one more bullet to shoot, I would look for that evil jerk. If I had one more bullet to shoot, put a gun in his mouth, put it in, put a gun in his mouth.” Clearly, things are done differently in his part of town.
If you were looking for something similar in terms of feel and touchstone, Ray Davies’s ‘Americana’ album would be a decent place to start. There are many very good things about this album, but some things that may get a little lost in the translation. However, overall, it is worth investing some time in. If only to boast to your friends, you have a deep and enduring knowledge of Croatian americana.
