Electric Cowboy: Born In Carolina Mud
Normaltown, 2022
8/10
Listen to Electric Cowboy: Born In Carolina Mud
The recording moniker of Jamil Rashad, as Boulevards he returns with a 4th album that’s eccentric in all the best ways and that takes help from members of Black Puma, Twin Peaks, Nikki Lane, and Macie Stewart, to name a few.
“Turn” starts the listen with soulful guitars, scrappy drumming and bright brass in the retro-rock spirit, and “Together” follows with some funk flavor and plenty of grooves entering the cautious yet playful delivery that makes a very unique impression.
In the middle, the stylish “Hooked” makes great use of frisky bass lines amid the dreamy backing vocals, while “Where Is Da Luv?” recruits thumping drums and strategic guitar work in the agile soul rocker. “Better Off Dead” then brings in Lane for the pretty yet buzzing album highlight of nostalgic rock ideas.
Inching towards the end, the dense “Modern Man” offers a thicker approach that flirts with psychedelia, and “Problems” exits the listen with warm textures in a neo-soul sort of way.
A very gritty outing that’s as diverse as the music coming from his home state of North Carolina, Boulevards pulls in influences as vast as James Brown, Bad Brains and Television, and it makes for an inimitable listen that gets better and better with each spin.
Travels well with: T. Hardy Morris- The Digital Age Of Rome; The Whitmore Sisters- Ghost Stories