The Power And The Glory
New West, 2023
9/10
Listen to The Power And The Glory
An Athens, Georgia all-star outfit consisting of Bill Berry (R.E.M), Mike Mantione (Five Eight), Christian Lopez (Curley Maple), Geoff Melkonian (Josh Joplin Group) and local guitar-shop-owner, Dave Domizi, The Bad Ends make an impressive debut with these 9 tracks that surround some weighty topics.
“Mile Marker 29” starts the listen with driving guitars and thumping drums amid the smooth singing in the alt-rock meets Americana climate, and “All Your Friends Are Dying” follows with both intimacy and ruggedness populating the folk-rock nods.
In the middle, “Thanksgiving 1915” isn’t short on power and melody that might bring to mind the college rock of the early ‘90s, while “Ode To Jose” trims the pace back significantly with John Neff’s pedal steel guitar adding much to the reflective mood of the bare delivery.
Arriving near the end, the dark spirited “Honestly” unfolds with a poetic, ominous quality that’s packed with dense bouts of hazy song craft, and “New York Murder Suicide” exits with Sean Dunn’s atmospheric guitar and the expressive singing that’s sparse but impactful.
Originally intended to be a solo project by Mantione, a chance meeting with Berry led to a full band affair, which is Berry’s first since leaving R.E.M. in 1997, and if this first effort is any indication, this could very well be a band that writes perfect records you’ll play for decades to come.
Travels well with: The Long Ryders- Psychedelic Country Soul; The Jayhawks- XOXO