From the first rumble of bass on opening track John Lee Wee, Deep South is as live as you could hope a live album to be, as Irish trio Crow Black Chicken entertain a raucous crowd with a dark, Guinness-heavy brew that still smacks of the Mississippi – with Irish banter as a bonus.
Highlights include the mean and dirty Hang ‘Em High – on which Christy O’Hanlon adds cinematically twanging guitar and growling vocals to Stephen McGrath’s throbbing bass – and Freedom, on which rolling, meandering bass underpins O’Hanlon’s slide at its stormy best.
Best of all, there’s the distorted boogie of Rumble Shake, built on fresh rhythms from Gev Barrett on drums – it’s all too short, but gives way to a rollercoaster of a finale on John The Revelator. Deep South shows Crow Black Chicken developing into very real, and distinctive, contenders.
