A friend of mine commented to me that he noticed all of my top 10 albums from 2016 were blues-based hard rock of one sort or another. Of course, he was right – growing up listening to Zeppelin and Eric Clapton will do that to you. Even my favorite band, Rush, played the blues in the early days. So when I’m not listening to hard rock, I’m often listening to straight up blues. I discovered Joe Bonamassa long before he became truly famous, and last year’s album Blues of Desperation was one of his best in a long time. So when I read about Aaron Keylock, I had to give it a listen.
Aaron released his debut, Cut Against the Grain in January, and I instantly recognized the songs, even though I’d never heard them. There’s a familiarity to blues-based songs that welcomes you in. The opener “All the Right Moves” is actually the hardest song on the album, with a ripping solo, and from there the songs dig deeper into the blues. “Down” is a modern blues rock song. “Just One Question” takes you back to where the blues came from. “Against the Grain” is another great blues rock song. And all throughout the slide guitar can be heard, especially on two songs towards the end, “Spin the Bottle” and “Sun’s Gonna Shine”.
Aaron does not have the voice of an 18-year old (although he looks even younger in his videos!). It doesn’t matter how old he is – the kid can play guitar and sing. Give him some age, and the true life experience that the blues are built on, and Aaron Keylock could be the next Joe Bonamassa. You heard it here first! – Dave
Track list:
- “All the Right Moves”
- “Down”
- “Medicine Man”
- “Falling Again”
- “Just One Question”
- “Against the Grain”
- “That’s Not Me”
- “Try”
- “Spin the Bottle”
- “Sun’s Gonna Shine”
- “No Matter What the Cost”
Cut Against the Grain can be bought on Amazon through the Decibel Geek link
Aaron Keylock Website / Aaron Keylock Facebook / Aaron Keylock Twitter
[arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7OJprMFvI8″ /]
