Reviewed by Jason Landry.

Despite the band’s name that sounds as if it was born out of Lucifer’s fiery layer, the dueling guitars and drummer that make up Bass Drum of Death are spot on. Every time I mention this band’s name to anyone, they smile at the sound: Bass. Drum. Of. Death! And what you get is less scarier than you would imagine.

Out on Fat Possum Records, Say I Won’t is the fifth studio album created by John Barrett and now features his brother Jim and drummer Ian Kirkpatrick currently on the skins. Together, they wrote and created and alt-rock album that is upbeat featuring a wall of over-driven guitars and a drummer keeping their shit together.

Find It is the lead track on the album, an energetic anthem poised to get the audience dancing, screaming and singing their hearts out. It moves into Head Change, a track that hits me in a special place—actually it sends me back to the 1990’s when I was deep into The Jesus and Mary Chain. Say Your Prayers, co-written by Mike Kerr of Royal Blood (another killer band) is the highlight of the album. The mix and the vocals bore similarities to The Black Keys—and what’s not to love about them, especially when Patrick Carney of The Black Keys produced this album.

Say.

Your.

Prayers……when you get down on your knees be sure to.

Close.

Your.

Eyes…..cause every time you look that’s when you die.

Moving back to his home town in Mississippi from New York might have been the best thing for John and the band. If you weren’t familiar with them before, John was the ring leader and wrote all the music, and in fact, he used to sing, play guitar and play the bass drum with his foot. This new collaborative effort sounds truly powerful and tight and if you are a fan of such acts as The Black Keys, The White Stripes, GA-20, or Royal Blood, Bass Drum of Death are surely going to fit right into your wheel house.