Album Review: The Electric Mud – Burn the Ships (Self Released)

The Electric Mud story begins, as many great rock and roll stories do, with hours and hours of gruelling rehearsals in a hellish garage in the Deep South. Hailing from Fort Myers, Florida, the band came together with the goal of marching north from the mangroves of the Caloosahatchee River and taking the country by storm with a modern and heavy brand of southern rock deeply rooted in the thunderous sounds of the past.

Spearheaded by searing twin guitars and gritty, soulful vocals, The Electric Mud quickly established themselves as the must-see act in their region, sharing the stage with the likes of Kings X, Devon Allman, 20 Watt Tombstone, and Brother Hawk. With the release of their 2018 debut album, Bull Gator, they embarked on a series of successful national tours culminating in a raucous appearance at the Midcoast Takeover showcase in Austin, Texas in this past March.

As summer approaches, so does more touring — and the release of their sophomore album, Burn the Ships. Released on August 23rd 2019.

Rock and roll at its brightest and grooviest, Call the Judge is gruff and a little bit weather-worn but still delivers plenty of energy. There is life in the old dog of rock and roll yet. Exemplified by The Electric Mud’s banging riff work.

Priestess is even better on that front, the slower and filthier beat conjuring up images of dive bars and sleazy shadows. It plays around wonderfully up until the final few minutes where it breaks apart to a jam-room style rhythm before picking up for a frantic finish.

Simply put, The Electric Mud rock and they rock hard. Good Monster, Reptile and Black Wool make up the middle of the album and offer variation and familiarity. Good time riffing, deep bass hooks, gruff yet appealing vocals and tempos that take us on a rock and roll trip. The trio add even more weight to the claim that The Electric Mud are a force not to be ignored in rock music.

The penultimate track, Stone Hands and final track Terrestrial Birds certainly don’t change that with an appealing double to impress. In particular the guitars in the latter.

The Electric Mud – Burn the Ships Full Track Listing:

1. Call the Judge
2. Priestess
3. Good Monster
4. Reptile
5. Black Wool
6. Stone Hands
7. Terrestrial Birds

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