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Review: 'WATER TOWER'
'Fly Around'   

-  Label: 'Dutch Records'
-  Genre: 'Alt/Country' -  Release Date: '21st May 2021'-  Catalogue No: 'DUTCH016-2'

Our Rating:
In the late 1980s a young band called The Primitives started out with the goal of emulating the raw power of Black Flag. This group morphed into Uncle Tupelo who had a huge influence on the first wave of what became known as ‘Alternative Country’.

Water Tower (formerly known as Water Tower Bucket Boys) are fronted by Kenny Feinstein who also grew up on punk rock and, in addition, he is a fan of bluegrass and old timey folk music. A measure of his broad musical palette can be gleaned from his debut solo album from 2013 which was an unlikely, but surprisingly accomplished, track by track cover of My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Loveless’ entitled ‘Loveless: Hurts To Love’.

Feinstein cites Germs as one of his major influences and recruited that band’s drummer Don Bolles to help to produce Fly Around. Feinstein explains: “Don Bolles is a punk rock legend who brought something to the plate that was very raw, an unbridled enthusiasm for our music, which was already steeped in tradition from another era.”

‘Fly Around’ is a concept album focused around the idea of leaving one home for another; in Feinstein’s case this mirrors his own personal journey from Portland, Oregon to Los Angeles. The desperate need for a change of scene is encapsulated in the song Town. The album was originally intended as a smash and grab release but, even though it lasts just 30 minutes, it took over three years to complete.

The claim that Water Tower are ‘steeped in tradition’ seems to over-egging it a bit since Bluegrass are just one aspect of a heady mix and it’s doubtful that it will appeal to Country purists. The title track is a relatively faithful version of a traditional song with ex. Old Crow Medicine Show singer Willie Watson on vocals but Fly Abound is a slowed down, stoner take on the same tune.

The psychedelic strands are just as prominent. Come Down Early is a Spaceman 3 cover where the band join forces with Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti . The slacker spirit of this tune is summed up by the line“all I want to do is get stoned.” Equally mind bending is Mile High Club, an experimental instrumental featuring very spacey keyboards from Ariel Pink’s keyboard player Shags.

It’s true that It’s Wrong does have some nifty fiddle playing and a toe-tapping beat but the album’s closer Anthem also highlights the band’s punk ‘roots’ by hiring Ron Reyes on lead vocals.

Reyes was Black Flag’s second singer so this brings things back to ‘The Primitives’ and to where one key strand of Alternative Country originated. ‘Fly Around’ is a pretty good indicator of where we are now. Will the circle be unbroken?

Water Tower’s website
  author: Martin Raybould

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WATER TOWER - Fly Around