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Whiskey Myers – ‘Tornillo’ review

Whiskey Myers makes music that your bones just want to climb into; their sixth studio creation, ‘Tornillo’, is an essential addition to EVERY album collection.

Recorded during a three week lock down (lock in, perhaps?) at their eponymous ‘Tornillo’ recording studio, under their own label Wiggy Thump Records, via Thirty Tigers Record, everything, from the forty-nine second horn-based intro to the last notes of Heart Of Stone, heralds the arrival of eleven guitar-led tracks, at times honest-raw in their impact.  

My advice to you? Clear your day and put ‘Tornillo’ on repeat. If you’re in the States buy a ticket; elsewhere in the UK, pray for a return to this soil from the boys who’ve already opened for The Rolling Stones and played to 100k crowds at Download.

Here are a few tracks that illustrate why ‘Tornillo’ is repeat-worthy:

Opening full-length track ‘John Wayne’s bass opening and five minutes eight seconds of everything that’s good about Whiskey Myers; fun-loving guitars, rhythmic vocals, McCrary Sisters harmonies, drums, harmonica edge….their driving momentum is the 4D version of music.

The revenge tale in the domestic abuse narrative of ‘Antioch’, where a word changed is a life changed. ‘Feet’s’, a rolling account of life on the road, shadowed with the harmonies of the legendary McCrary Sisters, is an absolute BELTER of a rocking beat.

The echo of break up song Bad Weather (on their fifth album, Whiskey Myers) in ‘For The Kids’, the story of a man desperate to stay together with his partner, even if they’re not happy, so that an innocent girl and boy don’t feel the impact of growing up without a parent.  

‘Mission to Mars’ is a fun, uniquely observational song, which Aaron Raitiere joins, taking the image of an intergalactic wish away from real life into the stratosphere.  Bonus points for including Han Solo in a lyric.

John Jeffers takes over the pen and the vocals to open up about his ATV accident in October 2020, where he fractured his skull and temporarily lost his hearing, just a few weeks before the arrival of his son, on ‘Heavy On Me’, offering insights into a strong sense of responsibility towards his marriage vows. Jeffers also wrote an earlier track, ‘Whole World Gone Crazy’, another very decent track on Tornillo.

The final song, the introspective ballad ‘Heart Of Stone’, gives us Cannon’s controlled vocals led by a melodic acoustic guitar.

The Whiskey Myers boys are to East Texas what The Rolling Stones lads are to London; location synonymous and damn good rockers. To echo lead vocalist Cody Cannon, don’t box this music-making six piece (Cannon, Cody Tate, John Jeffers, Jeff Hogg, Jamey Gleaves and Tony Kent) into one, or even several, genre(s).  That’s not the way they make music. They channel their experiences, their voices, their observations into one effervescent ball of perfect music energy. 

Whiskey Myers - Tornillo
Credit: Wiggy Thump Records

Track List: 1. Tornillo 2. John Wayne 3. Antioch 4. Feet’s 5. Whole World Gone Crazy 6. For The Kids 7. The Wolf 8. Mission To Mars 9. Bad Medicine 10. Heavy On Me 11. Other Side 12. Heart Of Stone Record label: Wiggy Thump Records Release date: 29th July 2022 Buy ‘Tornillo’ now

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