Scrapomatic - Alligator Love Cry Album Review

Scrapomatic
Alligator Love Cry
Album Review

Minnesota duo Scrapomatic build on Nawlins jazz and urban blues to create a delightfully easy-listening album of soulful music. In one way, Alligator Love Cry sounds like the Muppets doing blues and jazz (the house band always was pretty good!), but in another it sounds like a more parent-friendly version of The Black Keys, Tom Waits' shouters and Steve Earle country blues.

This is the duo's second album, and its soul is deep and uplifting - everything is parcelled out in moderation: there's no indulgent guitar soloing, although Paul Olsen clearly can play like a demon, and Mike Mattison's other job is as the lead singer in Derek Trucks Band. The Meters-like drumming occasionally makes the music sound like a Louisiana house party, and the singalong I Belong To The Band comes across more as spiritual gospel testimony. A highly-recommended step into modern blues/ jazz.

Rating 7/10

Mike Rea