Track listing: Piece by Piece by Piece, Andromeda, Lavender Blues, The Wrong Side, Shy Ones, End of the Line 7. Sliver of a Maybe, I Need You, Fast Car Getaway, Goodbye I Wish You Well, Coming Home, Stone Cold, Blowing Smoke Signals, When I Drift Away, Best is Yet to Come
Next month Madison, Wisconsin based band The Mascot Theory release their new album Every Sign of Life (on April 26th to be precise). Longtime stapes of the Madison scene, the group has won 20+ Madison Area Music Association awards including Artist of the Year in 2016 and 2017. For this record the quintet sourced legendary Sonic Ranch Studios in the desert of West Texas and work with famed producer Terry Manning (Zeppelin, Kravitz, Stax, ZZ, Shakira). The result is a gritty, raucous good ol' classic rock 'n' roll experience.
The first single "Stone Cold" is brash and ballsy. Vocalist Erik Kjelland channels a soulful spirit a la Chris Stapleton with his unique guttural calls. Nick Fry's bass guitar and drummer Paul Metz lock-in tight with a hammering sound-wall of rhythm. The track has that head-bobbing vibe that channels your inner Southern Rock fanboy. Once you kick into Cory Swadley's guitar solo with a bit of backing Hammond B3, all bets are off. This is a really fuckin' good song.
The video for "Stone Cold" is a whole other story. Featuring the band and several of their own children, it's a display of the best and worst things about those legendary (and now forever banned) dodge ball games in gym class. Definitely worth your while to take a look at it.
"Andromeda" is the second single off the record, with an intro as spacey as its title. Think Star Trek's original TV show intro. But once things kick into gear you get a sense of Bad Company in the verse and Kjelland belting with Neil Diamond intensity in the chorus. Again some of that absolutely choice B3 sits in the backseat, just letting itself be known without taking over. Once we arrive at the breakdown, The Mascot Theory sprinkles in some funk relief before soaring back into the astronomically inspired sing-a-long chorus and outro.
The Mascot Theory has a lot comin' down the pike. Links to their new singles dropping, show announcements, and more can be found at themascottheory.com.