Louisville’s The Glasspack wears its Southern heritage like a badge of honor. Tales of barbeques, whiskey, and cars flow through their music like the Mississippi River through the delta valley.
Dirty Women (Small Stone) shows a freer and happier side of the band. If Powderkeg and Bridgeburner saw the boys going off to battle, Dirty Women is the homecoming party celebrating their victory. They may not have “lightened up” but they are more laid back.
The band is at their best when adding a Southern twist to spacey psychedelic rock on the extended “Louisiana Strawberry,” but not all of their experiments fare so well. Reminiscent of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” the blistering “Ice Cream” starts and stops abruptly, though, instead of dueling with the prince of darkness, the audience is invited for a sandwich.
This risky choice may have been forgivable had the tune not ended with a minute and a half of Spinal Tap-ish guitar shredding. Regardless, The Glasspack continues to be purveyors of the dirtiest blues around, and should be played as loud as possible for maximum effect.
- Jamie Ludwig
The Glasspack (Small Stone)