King Pima
Wolf and Big Medicine – Medicine (Independent)
“Medicine”, King Pima Wolf and Big Medicine’s new
album, contains just seven tracks, though it clocks in at an impressive 54
minutes. They’re obviously not a group to be rushed. Indeed, slow blues is
their forte and they’re unafraid to let a song unhurriedly unwind, building
tension as it develops and respite when it breaks like a wave. Musically, it’s
consistently effective, and the band, King Pima Wolf on vocals, guitarist
Mathew J. Ruffino, bassist Troy Ricciardi and drummer Michael Sversvold
repeatedly bring to mind legendary blues-rockers like Free, the Allmans, or The
Doors circa “L.A. Woman”.
Love and healing are the themes they’re promoting,
and they’re ‘on massage’ from the off. They begin the album with “One”, a
peaceful call to arms and a clear statement of intent. “Magic Man Blues” ups the pace and relocates to the
swamps; Ruffino’s slide guitar providing thrills aplenty. “What'cha Gonna Do” arrives fully formed, like the
illegitimate offspring of Deep Purple and Canned Heat, and final number “Good Day to Die” is upbeat and peculiarly positive, though
‘tomorrow is a good day to die’ is surely a universal truth, insofar tomorrow
never comes.
Keep a look out for King Pima Wolf and Big Medicine.
On record they’ve managed to breathe vital new life into a genre long past its
prime; on stage I imagine they’re just as impressive.
Simon M.
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