Burden Brothers - Buried In Your Black Heart

Sometimes it is hard for people to associate a familiar name with a new face. When you get to know and love someone in one set of clothes, it is hard to see them in anything else. Micheal Jordan will always be a Chicago Bull, despite a stint with the Wizards, and Billy Corgan will always be a Smashing Pumpkin, despite the brief formation of Zwan. Vaden Todd Lewis established one of the best bands ever to come out of the Lone Star State, and rose to recognition with the late, the great, the Toadies. Now, along with Taz Bentley, another “formerly of” by means of The Reverand Horton Heat, Lewis rises like a phoenix with the second coming. The results are pure rock n’roll greatness! Buried In Your Black Heart is an eleven-song assault of balls out rock. Some people have labeled the band as a little too much fluff and fun, and not enough talented artistry. My response is: who gives a crap? After the screw job The Toadies got from their label, can you blame the man for just wanting to get back to the roots of rock and just have some good old fun? The album’s strong points are personified in its front man and his songwriting. A distinct, powerful voice brings every track banging into your head, while the melodies prove that rock can at once be hard and still catchy. Straight rockers such as the title track, “Walk Away”, and “Come On Down” pepper their way among the more meaty tracks, making you wish your hair was just a little bit longer so your head banging might look a little better. “Beautiful Night”, “You’re So God Damn Beautiful”, and “Your Fault” ride the fence between melody and mayhem like a tidal wave through your headphones. The boys slow it down for a few moments with the album closers “Conditional” and “Let It Go”, but the stand out happens early with the infectious “Shadow”, a blend of creepy, loving lyrics combined with a slow building stroke of the guitar to build a vintage Lewis classic. They aren’t reinventing the face of rock, but they aren’t trying to. When it comes to straight rock n’roll it doesn’t get much better than this. Buyers beware: once this album hits your player it won’t soon be making an exit. A solid piece of work from beginning to end marks the full-length debut of what is sure to be a band to keep an ear and an eye on. [www.theburdenbrothers.com]