Mess Hall, The - Devil's Elbows (Album)

The Mess Hall have been blowing peoples brains out of the back of their heads at their live shows for years now and their records have always vividly recaptured that energy. And this new record is no exception. However if you are expecting a high octane bluesy rock album you can go air guitar crazy over while driving with your knees, you may have to have a second think. Don’t get me wrong; this album has many big guitar riff moments. The second you put it on, your speakers get off their butts and shift into high gear with ‘Keep walking.’ One of the best intros to an album I’ve ever heard! This number never seems to get boring and I’m always air guitaring to it as if at a Bon Jovi concert. There’s also ‘Buddy,’ ‘City of roses,’ and ‘Lorelei’ that will not disappoint the rock fans. Having been absent from the live scene for the most part leading up to this release it’s hard to compare these tracks to the live equivalent. But the power that blasts out of the speakers when I put this sucker on is enough to make me think it’d be a pretty good match.

However it’s the songs that I can’t quite put into a genre that I find the most intriguing. Songs such as ‘Pulse’ which has an insane, pounding drive that draws you in very gently and only gives in at the very end, kinda sounds like it should have been on a Joy Division album and ‘Betty’ which sounds more psychedelic than anything I’ve heard these guys do and almost should be on a 60’s release from The Velvet Underground or The Doors.

This album was produced with Burke Reid of Gerling fame and you can really hear his crisp production on this record compared with other releases from the band. His influence I think is really felt on the opener ‘Keep walking’ which could easily have gone the direction of boring rock production and sound like Deep Purple, but instead has been very cleverly restricted into an Perspex box that makes it beat against the walls but never get out of control. Particularly though I think Burke’s influence is felt most on songs like ‘Cookie’, which is simply one of the sexiest, grooviest tracks since Marvin Gaye. It’s near impossible not to look about the room for some hot body to rub up against when it is on. ‘Part 1’ starts like a typical bluegrass kinda folk song. The kind you hear on the back porch with horses in the paddock, but then it builds up massively and blows up to an orgasm of trumpets and stadium rock n roll in the chorus that is enough to make you shout out “Halleluiah!” This one will definitely make people dance like nuts live.

The softer moments on the album are just awesome and aren’t just filler to break up the rock moments. ‘Load left’ is such a sweet gangly number that it’s perfect when listened to on the road, chilling out. And “Be not a man” that closes the album is the perfect way to end a long day of driving in summer. It gently tucks you into bed and sooths you to sleep.

Their 2 piece drums and blues guitar sound can appear to be a southern country, rock rip off in the vein of white stripes or The Black keys on paper, however, though there is a strong blues influence, I never once felt that I had heard anything like this before or that it wasn’t in every way a new direction for the band and an extension of their sound and genre. It’s such a good listen that every time I go back to it I find more stuff that I like that I missed. Strangely though that’s usually the case when bands go crazy in the studio and layer the shit out of it with thousands of instruments. Thus you hear new stuff with every listen. On this album though there is definite intension to keep the instrumentation simple, as they are only a 2-piece band. And though you may think this would limit the sound of the album and what can be accomplished instead it comes out lush and full and you don’t even notice that in the most part there is still only drums and 1 guitar. Maybe a second guitar for a solo or a trumpet or piano added in places. A very well crafted and thought out album, this one will keep old fans very happy and introduce them to newer sounds that I hope are explored more in the future of the band. To newer fans it’s a great way to hear them for the first time as you are getting one fine piece of music from which to judge the band by.

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