Blind Atlas: Kodiak Bear

Mancunian country blues grooving to a Burritos beat.

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With members from the US and UK, this six-piece have found themselves a DIY niche in the rainy North West, a location that’s surely influenced their tousled ’n’ torn country form.

For Carol opens this debut with a Burritos-like lap steel stroll that’s soon flattened by the chugging runaway blues of Fourth Street. After that, though, Kodiak Bear becomes much more brooding and reflective as gorgeous stand-out Time Plays Its Part yanks on the heart strings, and Iron Wall stretches out to a seven-minute Ashes, The Rain And I-tinged folk dirge.

The album could have probably been four songs shorter, and better produced, but with hints of Exile…, Calexico and Frontier Ruckus, it’s a loveable start.

Jo Kendall
Jo Kendall

Jo is a journalist, podcaster, event host and music industry lecturer with 23 years in music magazines since joining Kerrang! as office manager in 1999. But before that Jo had 10 years as a London-based gig promoter and DJ, also working in various vintage record shops and for the UK arm of the Sub Pop label as a warehouse and press assistant. Jo's had tea with Robert Fripp, touched Ian Anderson's favourite flute (!), asked Suzi Quatro what one wears under a leather catsuit, and invented several ridiculous editorial ideas such as the regular celebrity cooking column for Prog, Supper's Ready. After being Deputy Editor for Prog for five years and Managing Editor of Classic Rock for three, Jo is now Associate Editor of Prog, where she's been since its inception in 2009, and a regular contributor to Classic Rock. She continues to spread the experimental and psychedelic music-based word amid unsuspecting students at BIMM Institute London, hoping to inspire the next gen of rock, metal, prog and indie creators and appreciators.