Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires “Deconstructed”

This is the follow up to the band’s last release “There Is a Bomb in Gilead”. That album actually generated a lot of critical praise which saw the band really raise their profile. For us, it was an album which we enjoyed but didn’t quite catch our heart. We were therefore keen to see how the band would develop on this latest release.
It certainly begins in fine, rocking form as “The Company Man” opens up with a hint of ‘Black Betty’ before turning in to a Bad Company song performed by a garage rock n roll band. Indeed, what could be more rock n roll than a song all about rallying against ‘the man’? The sound gets even more raucous on title track “Deconstructed” which is a great bar room song. The band don’t stop there though and we see them harnessing the power of Led Zeppelin gone country on “Burnpiles, Swimming Holes”.

The tempo is finally taken down a bit with “The Weeds Downtown”. It’s still a pacey number but the sound is more akin to the sleazy blues of The Stones. Alongside next track “What’s Good As Gone” they provide a nice couplet of bluesy rock n roll songs before we hit the more funky line of “Dare Defend Our Rights”.
The listener has to hold on until near the end of the album before they can really take a breather. “Mississippi Bottomland” is the most restrained song on the album. Well, almost, there is still a bar room chorus to keep the song moving along. The album then draws to a close with the Americana flavoured rock n roll of “Dirt Track”.

Whilst the album may cover a number of styles and genres e.g. Blues, rock, country, Americana etc. the simple truth is that it’s just a damn fine rock n roll album. Indeed for those of us who are already missing the brilliant Jim Jones Revue, this band may well be the perfect replacement. Like that band, they take the basic roots of rock n roll but add a garage and raucous flavour which makes it all sound fresh and contemporary. It’s the kind of album which really proves the old adage that rock n roll will never die!