Tornillo

Whiskey Myers basically spent their eponymous 2019 album embracing their rocking roots, so its not entirely a surprise that its 2022 successor, Tornillo, finds them traveling so far down that road that country seems like a forgotten memory. This is hardly a complaint, not when the band play with such sinewy swagger that they shamelessly cop every one of Lynyrd Skynyrds moves on "Feets," a choogling boogie that cheerfully resembles "Call Me the Breeze." Call "Feets" the marker that illustrates how much Whiskey Myers sound like their own selves on the rest of Tornillo. They remain steeped in Southern lore, not so much replicating the outlaw sounds of the 1970s as carrying the torch as if the ensuing five decades never happened. The big, thick beats, here slathered with backing vocals and horns -- flair that gives the group a sense of polish and professionalism -- are given weight and dimension by earthy guitars and greasy organ, sounds that would be comfort food on their own but are given shape and muscle by a band who have thoroughly settled into their skin. This is music they feel deeply in their bones, and that emotion has spilled onto the record, resulting in a furious, funky, and fun old-fashioned rock & roll record. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine