I love the slurry and swinging tracks on Blowhard Deluxe. This album is grimier than Magic Hour, a bit less pop bop-your-head wild than Big Deal. A bit of The Mummies, a bit Alex Chilton torn free from the Box Tops and Big Star. Blowhard Deluxe is heavy on the spooky blues reverb and rocker’s drawl, which I hear can be achieved only through a devotion to Lone Star lager; monastic study of the works of Faulkner, Hannah, and O’Connor; or eating an Elvis Presley Rose from the highest point of Graceland. And yet they are from Nebraska. Who can say which is true Brimstone Howl? In any case, BlowhardDeluxe rocks with the bright guitars on “King of the Scene,” and rolls with mid-tempo thump of “Landlocked+Waylaid.” This album is a more patient, plodding, and steady than the others, but it’s a keeper. Check out their bandcamp for a free download of “Singles Collection,” also great.
–Jim Joyce (Dead Beat)