If you've tuned in here previously, you'll know your reviewer was recently in raptures over gritty Kentucky trio PEARLENE after catching one of their incendiary soirees in the Emerald Isle.
Wonderfully, in a home environment, Pearlene's punked-up, gutbucket blues transfers with ease, and it's all the better to succumb to on record away from the close proximity effect of the beer-sozzled loon who (almost) spoiled your reviewer's enjoyment of the band's wired live set.
Recorded (I'd say) pretty live with the emphasis on the dirty, bruised and scarred, "Murder, Blues And Prayer" is (I think) Pearlene's second album and it finds them howling huge, electric Delta songs with additional sonic muscle provided by kindred Detroit spirits, Soledad Brothers' Oliver Henry (sax/ piano) and Johnny Walker (guitar/ harmonica).
Not too surprisingly, several of the best set pieces are the adrenalised covers of ancent blues icons Fred McDowell, Son House and Mississippi Red. McDowell's supercharged "You Done Told Everybody" kicks us off in fine style, while the snaky riffs of Son House's "Jinx Blues" burrow so deep you'll never wash 'em out, no matter how much booze you put away. Missisippi Red's "Murder, Blues And Prayer" itself is the tour de force, though: a huge, rattling railroad cacophony featuring Johnny Walker's blaring harmonica and singer Reuben Glaser giving it his best Jeffrey Lee Pierce while they all somehow keep it on the rails. Awesome.
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Brilliantly, Pearlene's own songwriting is taking shape, too. "A Kiss On The Lips" finds a groovily fatalistic lyric squaring up to shit-hot riffing from Glaser and bassist Jesse Ebaugh's creepy, whirling organ; while the arrogant "Human Being" (great intro line: "Life is a bitch with child-bearing hips") sounds like The Stones armed with whiskey bottles, bike chains and chloroform.
A coupla selections are rather less essential. For all its' see-sawing power, "Mutilation Boogie" goes nowhere of conseqence and "Honey Halleluja" is just inconsequential. Much better is Glaser's "Wayitgo": a fine slice of spooked, near-falsetto acoustic blues to sign off with, recalling the downhome treats he was serving up with fellow Kentucky singer/ songwriter David Viner on tour.
"Murder, Blues And Prayer" is a filthy collection of amped-up, forked-tongued devils conjured up from the ancient world and left to run free in this entirely contemporary setting. Pearlene are a great find, so make sure you subscribe to their hellfire(water) breathing sermons as soon as you can.
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