Yard Sale
VizzTone, 2022
8/10
A youngster from Salt Lake City, J-Rad Cooley knows his way around a blues tune you won’t soon forget, and his singing, harmonica and piano skills are certainly impressive beyond his years on this debut album.
“Livin’ Downtown” opens the listen and wastes no time making an impression with its spirited harmonica, thumping drums and soulful backing vocals as flowing blues rock unfolds, and “Baby Won’t You Please Come Home” follows with a warm, breezy delivery that benefits from agile piano and Cooley’s cozy pipes.
In the middle, “Running From My Hometown” brings both grit and melody to the timeless blues landscape, while “Yard Sale” is a playful, even comical retro-rock display.
Moving towards the end, “The World Will Call Me Mister” bounces and shakes with plenty of rhythm in a more subdued environment, and “Til Hate Is Gone” exits the listen calm, emotive and soft in Cooley’s very mature formula.
Cooley aligned himself with the esteemed producer Tony Holiday for the affair, and Victor Wainwright plays piano on about half the tunes. Additionally, Kasik and Josh Karrick (bass), Aubrey McCrady (guitar), Shake E. Fowlkes (drums), Tim “Too Slim” Langford (guitar) and Hannah Jason (backing vocals) are in attendance, and they help cement Cooley as a rising talent in modern blues that deserves much attention.
Travels well with: Ben Levin- Still Here; Hector Anchondo- Let Loose Those Chains