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Local Reviews: Blackhounds

Local Music Reviews

Blackhounds
Hold On For Dear Life
Self-Released
Street: 06.08
Blackhounds = Lucero + Gaslight Anthem + Tom Petty
These days you gotta be specific. Is it alt-rock? Indie rock? Jam rock? No? How about Goth rock? Post punk? Post tech? Techno punk? Stop the list, I’m getting dizzy.  There is a true plethora of sub-genres in today’s musical landscape. It’s exhausting, which is what makes reviewing this band such a pleasure.  Blackhounds make rock n’ roll.  Maybe there’s a dollop of country twang in there, maybe the vocals smack of the gravelly 90s grunge sounds—it doesn’t matter.  At the end of the day this local band’s music can only be described as good old American rock and fuckin’ roll.  A full-length album is set to drop in spring 2011, and the four track EP can be found on the web or at a BlackHounds show.  Speaking of which, if you missed them at Kilby on the 26 of last month, the boys are romping across the U.S. on their Down n’ Dirty tour through this month, but they’ll be back here in early November.  The tracks on Hold On For Dear Life are all fun to listen to, and manage a sincerely positive vibe, even when the lyrical subject matter is melancholy.  Their sound is simple and unpretentious, and the fun they have playing music is obvious to any listener.