Ohio power-trio riffs on heavy ’60s and ’70s blues-rock
This Ohio power-trio’s got the riffs, chops and swagger to make you wish for a triple bill at the Agora. Rock may no longer be popular music’s prevailing tide, but Mount Carmel’s heavy bottom end, powerful drums and scorching lead guitar sound like a day hasn’t passed since Cream, Grand Funk, Rory Gallagher, Blue Cheer, Ten Years After, Mountain and others ruled the hard rock roost. Even with tasty guitar solos, the songs are concise (only two weigh in at over four minutes) and the playing is tight. Matthew Reed fronts the band without overdoing the machismo, and his guitar playing is supported by a solid rhythm section that features his brother Patrick on bass and James McCain on drums. There’s a hint of hippie-jam in their instrumental passages, but no twenty-minute Fillmore excess – at least not in the studio. If today’s popular music doesn’t have the muscle and grit to get you moving, this is one to check out. [©2014 Hyperbolium]