Blood Meridian - Kick Up The Dust

The press quote for Kick Up the Dust calls it “twelve stunningly diverse tracks for when the skies are slate grey and Jim Beam is the only friend worth turning to.” Or, twelve similar songs for rainy days in college town coffee shops. Blending early '90s rock, Americana, and a little bit of punk, Blood Meridian has a vaguely Velvet Underground, Love and Rockets feel. Think Johnny Cash and Lou Reed getting stoned with Kurt Cobain. The album is full of acoustic guitar, snare drums and hi-hats, backed by organ synths, and the slightly off-key vocals of Matthew Camirand (of Black Halos and Pink Mountaintops fame). The album is nowhere as bleak as the band’s namesake, a book written by cowboy-inspired author Cormac McCarthy. In fact, most of the songs seem to have a hopeless romantic feel. This record includes the hymn-like track “Soldiers of Christ” and the title track's mellow tambourine tap, which swells into a wall of organ chords punctuated by bass drum and a little hint of snares and toms. Not to mention the Grandpa playing the slide guitar on the porch cowboy ballad “Try For You.” Although Kick Up the Dust is a strong freshman album produced by seasoned musicians, it has a consistently mellow feel. This album is a reasonable step up from a college kid with a guitar trying to pick up girls during Spring Break. The music is done well, but strays from the adjective "creative." [www.bloodmeridian.com]