Boomerang
is the third offering from
Eric Sardinas & Big Motor
. It marks the trio's recording debut with drummer
Bryan Keeling
, a session and touring ace who spent six years with
Shooter Jennings & the .357s
. Founding bassist
Levell Price
is back of course, and the band enlists a small and select list of guests on various tracks. Inside the recording's cover sleeve are the words "....dedicated to my friend Johnny Winter. Thank you for the memoriesâ?¦."
Winter
's influence on
Sardinas
' playing is incalculable and acknowledged. But on
, recorded after
's death, the music is a direct reflection of his unruly good-time spirit. Check the title track where
' phrasing combines both early Texas and Delta blues in the intro in the same fashion
did. Both acoustic and electrified resonators are placed on stun, wrangling over
Price
's fuzzed-out choogling bass boogie. When he takes his guitar break, one can hear traces of "Meantown Blues" in its cadence. The funky seven chords that introduce "Tell Me Your Mine" recall
Johnny Winter And
but the swampy, riff-laden crunch is pure
, all swaggering bluster and six-string fire.
Keeling
's fat tom-tom attack adds so much more to the bottom end -- even in the most basic shuffles -- than
Chris Frazier
's drumming did. It's less about the rock power trio tip and more about the blues rock pocket. "Morning Glory," a short, acoustically driven Delta-inspired rumbler, is a nice change of pace for this band, as are the boogie rockers "If You Don't Love Me" and "Long Gone," which come complete with ringing guitar hooks and
's bass on
ZZ Top
throb.
Leiber
&
Stoller
's "Trouble" is done in classic Chicago style, but recalls
's rowdy ass studio sessions with
Muddy Waters
, while
Howlin' Wolf
's "How Many More Years" almost comes off the rails with its coil of careening, razor-wired waves of solo guitar -- playing boogie with this kind of swing reveals just how tight this band is.
is far more consistent than 2011's
Sticks & Stones
; it returns to the inspired and energized sound of the band's self-titled 2008 offering. ~ Thom Jurek