DEWOLFF: Muscle Shoals (ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

There's a misunderstanding about DeWolff. For a long time, we thought they were the kind of '70s stoner bands you'd come across, albeit better than many others. In fact, the Dutch band mostly play rock (a little) and soul-tinged blues (a lot). And as the years went by, their psychedelic foundation began to crumble. Today, there's almost nothing left.

There's a simple reason for this. It's not just a trip back in time that the trio invites the listener to, but a geographical escape, to deepest America, the land of bastringues and country music, whose soul they seek to capture. Already more than apparent on “Love, Death & In Between”, this evolution is confirmed by “Muscle Shoals”, which casts off the last moorings of the vaguely stoner rock with which its progenitors were associated.

The title, of course, refers to the recording studio of the same name in Alabama, a state emblematic of the American South and Dixie culture. This tenth album (already!) was partly recorded there under the guidance of Ben Tanner (The Pollies, Alabama Shakes). It's easy to imagine how happy the Dutch must have been to record in this historic venue that has seen the likes of Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett. “Muscle Shoals” undoubtedly bears the mark of this in its guts and heart, as if it had captured the spirit of the legendary musicians who have passed through these walls.

If the damp, antediluvian keyboards cast the shadow of the Doors ('Fools &Horses') or Deep Purple ('Out On The Town') at times, there is above all a lot of blues and soul in this record, which is by turns furiously moving (the swaying 'In Love'), sometimes a little harder ('Natural Woman'), most often mellow (the tranquil 'Let's Stay Together'). His inspiration, more than ever at attention, dictates some of the band's most beautiful tracks.

'Ophelia' is a perfect synthesis of the DeWolff style, with wriggling percussion, guitars full of feeling and gospel choirs. The bluesy 'Truce', the honky tonk-escaped 'Book Of Life' and the astonishingly long (over 8 minutes) 'Snowbird', a velvety piece that moves delicately through a long instrumental section, also illustrate this cheeky verve coupled with infectious joy.

"Muscle Shoals”, thirteen tracks without a break, reveals DeWolff at his best, in his own unique oak-aged style, less and less psychedelic and more and more bluesy and soulful. Given the result, cozy and vigorous, no one will complain. - Official website

DEWOLFF

MUSCLE SHOALS

MASCOT LABEL GROUP

ROCK