Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires – There is a Bomb in
Gilead
In an age where genres of music can be cheaply copied,
hijacked and manipulated (yes I’m looking at you Will.I.Am) it is an enormous
relief to find a band who, not only know their genre, but loyally stick to it
and produce a fine album that knows exactly what it wants to do, and goes off
and does it.
‘Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires’, from Birmingham,
Alabama, are technical masters of their art. Their art: out and out
barnstorming Southern rock n roll. Sharing qualities and characteristics of
every critic’s favourite new band, Alabama Shakes, whom they have also toured
with, The Glory Fires are more powerful, more faithful to the southern sound of
the USA and carry an unrivalled authenticity. Their debut album, ‘There is a
Bomb in Gilead’ is an example of this. And it’s good too. It’s not as if you
have to be devout worshipper of Americana roots music or already have a strong
grasp of deep American rock music to appreciate and enjoy this little snapshot
of America.
It’s a great feat to produce and album that is accessible as
well as musically credible, and this is exactly what The Glory Fires have done.
It would not feel out of place in a dusty hot summer in Birmingham, Alabama,
nor would it be alien in a kitchen in a drizzly miserable summer in Birmingham,
UK. With Bains’s distinctive smooth, soulful voice they may face a challenge to
avoid becoming clichéd, thus preventing them from reaching a worldwide
audience, through dismissal of the genre as a whole; however, Lee Bains III and
the Glory Fires have made their first, distinctive step into what could be a
very long and successful career.
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