St. Louis, Missouri band The Bottle Rockets have just released its twelfth album South Broadway Athletic Club (on October 2 via Bloodshot Records).
The Bottle Rockets hit the scene in the 1990’s and its eponymous debut (1993) and follow-up, 1995’s The Brooklyn Side, have become landmark releases, having recently been re-issued due to their status.
The band has been harder than most to pigeon-hole. Too fast and loud for country, too rootsy for rock ‘n’ roll. The band, however, has a strong following with many devotees acquired along the band’s journey.
This is the band’s first studio album since 2009’s Lean Forward.
South Broadway Athletic Club sees the quartet (Brian Henneman, Mark Ortmann, John Horton and Keith Voegele) repeat the band’s trademark music – all so effortless, writing about everyday things with the full pull of power roots rock ‘n’ roll.
Although they again worked with long-time producer Eric “Roscoe” Ambel, it was the first time the group recorded a full album in their hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. Working at Sawhorse Studios, it was also the first time they scheduled sessions in batches over several months, allowing the songs – and the whole album – to fully breathe and unfold. The extended songwriting process not only allowed a gestation period for the music, but also created the opportunity for a new musical collaboration with the Nashville hit-songwriting family The Henningsens, resulting in the song “Something Good.” These fresh directions helped focus the band’s creativity and energy throughout the recording sessions, adding further dimension to the album.
South Broadway Athletic Club is an album full of new experiences for the band. How did it turn out?
The album kicks off with “Monday (Everytime I Turn Around)” which is as catchy as all get-out, with everything in place where it should be. Here it is, along with another track “XOYOU”.
“Big Lotsa Love” has engaging wordplay and jangling power guitar. “I Don’t Wanna Know” (nuthin’!) says it all, keep it simple and enjoy the ignorance (John Horton’s guitar is a treat), and “Big Fat Nuthin'” continues the theme, a remedy to extreme exhaustion – ‘my idea of recreation is brain-dead flat-line vegetation’.
For earthly simplicity, the zenith is “Dog,” a defiant and unashamed tribute to a favorite canine: “I love my dog, he’s my dog/ If you don’t love my dog, that’s OK/ I don’t want you to, he’s my dog”. The same feelings emerge about the song itself.
“Something Good” is a delight – catchy chorus, nice guitar runs and a Byrds-type aesthetic. My favourite track is “Building Chryslers”, with a wall of power chords, carefully added ingredients to a wonderful wall of sound, combined with a stark tale of taking the cheap option at the car assembly plant. “Smile” (At Me) is a welcome acoustic interlude with Horton’s guitar delicious. Another highlight is the sweet soulful “Ship It On The Frisco” about hopping trains as a child.
At the core of the band and South Broadway Athletic Club is singer/guitarist/lyricist Brian Henneman who meticulously crafts these old-hand experiences and attitudes.
The Bottle Rockets are back in style. Gathering more devotees no doubt. You never know, the band might even become hugely popular at this rate!
National Public Radio critic Ann Powers said of the band:
“Since the mid-1990s, Bottle Rockets bard Brian Henneman and his shifting ensemble of compadres (drummer Mark Ortmann is a constant) have been crafting heartland epics within a rock ‘n’ roll framework, that spill beer and stir the heart on impact.”
South Brooklyn Athletic Club
Track List
1. Monday (Everytime I turn Around)
2. Big Lotsa Love
3. I Don’t Wanna Know
4. Big Fat Nuthin’
5. Dog
6.Something Good
7.Building Chryslers
8. Smile
9. XOYOU
10. Ship it On the Frisco
11. Shape of a Wheel
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