Album Of The Week: Dirty Streets’ White Horse

Everyone wants to talk about what’s happening in Nashville. But what about that other city in Tennessee? What about Memphis? With a long history of blues and soul music, The River City has been a hive for fantastic rock ‘n’ roll that’s still alive and well today. With a Motown vibe, hints of funk and a whole lot of groove, Dirty Streets call Memphis home and they have a sound that’ll get you hooked like a fish on a line. Their fourth full length, White Horse, is currently out and it brings a vintage power that’s reminiscent of every awesome rock ‘n’ roll band you’ve ever heard.

There’s an old-school feel with Dirty Streets; their melodies and rhythms give me visions of The Guess Who, The Allman Brothers and James Gang. That’s not a bad trio to be compared to, right? Frontman Justin Toland’s voice harks back to the bravado of The Guess Who’s Burton Cummings, their psychedelic tendencies and riffs are evocative of late ’60s Allman Brothers and the sheer rawness of it all definitely brings the styles of James Gang to mind. This trio has a ton of boogie with the way they play, and you’ll notice it from the get-go once you give White Horse a listen.

It’s December, which means that you’ll have to do some Christmas shopping sometime soon. Why not get the people you love some music? Whether it’s a record, a God-forsaken CD or even a mixture. Who knows? Maybe the new album from Dirty Streets could make for a wonderful stocking stuffer. While you get ready to bring out some holiday cheer, check out my top tracks off of the Album Of The Week.

That drumbeat firing it all off from Andrew Denham on “Save Me” sets the tone for the entire album in magnificent fashion. It’s a near perfect opening track on White Horse that brings charisma to the forefront. A rabble-rouser to the fullest extent, “Good Pills” has Denham unleashing killer downbeats while creating infectious rhythms with Thonas Storz on bass. Toland gets straight up nasty on guitar in this track as well. You’ll hear a subtle piano cutting away and then everything gets thunderous on “Looking For My Peace.” Storz’s bass and Toland’s psychedelic twang are very much present in this track and it’s a gem.

Dirty Streets’ next show will be will be at Maxine’s on December 4 in Hot Springs, Arkansas. They just did a tour with fuzz metal giants Spirit Caravan that rolled through Brighton Music Hall in Allston, Massachusetts on November 12 so it’ll only be a matter of time until they come back to New England. Until then, you gotta get yourself a copy of White Horse from Memphis rock & roll trio Dirty Streets. It’ll get you to boogie and it’ll get you to groove, plug this bad boy in and bust a move.

Stream “Good Pills” on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/alivenaturalsound/dirty-streets-good-pills?in=alivenaturalsound/sets/the-dirty-streets

Dirty Streets on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedirtystreets