The Mallet Brothers Band are a band of ramblers from sunny Portland, Maine. Six dudes playing some good ol’ neuvo country or alt-country or backwoods rock- whatever exactly you want to call the kind of music that combines country, rock and good times.
They recently released their third album, Land. It lives up to it’s predecessor, Low Down. Low Down featured the title track, a barn-storming, hell on wheels jam that was my introduction to the band after looking them up upon hearing an inordinate amount of rumbling about the band from friends up north. Now while there isn’t a song as tight and raw as “Low Down,” on Land, that doesn’t mean it’s any less of an album. The album is a step in the right direction for the band- more focused and driven. It’s much more cohesive than Low Down.
The Mallets play the kind of shit-kickin’ music that makes a person, no matter how decent, refined or inhibited, want to do some drinking, some rawkus driving and/or some rebellious behavior.
It’s lewd-act inducing…in the best public way. The best.
It’s unfair, though, to broad stroke the band; to simply say that doing some drinkin’ works well when listening to the Mallet Brothers Band. Some drinkin’. That’s too general. I feel you need to get specific here. Yeah man, do some drinkin’ and listen to Land- there’s no way that’s not a good time. But you need to mix it up if you want to do it right. Each song requires it’s own drink. One song may be good for some bottled beer reflecting, another some canned beer wildness. A couple tunes require whiskey- either sippin’ or in shot form. No songs are asking for wine.
So for your reference, here is a drinking companion for Land.
“Blue Ridge Parkway” – Bottled beer
“Farmer’s Tan” – Canned beer
“All Kinds of Crazy” – Whiskey, straight
“Take It Slow” – Bottled beer
“In the Fold” – Bottled beer
“Little Bit of Mud” – Canned beer & whiskey shots
“Goodnight” – Canned beer
“Somethin’ to Lean On” – Bottled beer
“Getaway Queen” – Whiskey, straight
“Piece of Land” – Canned Beer
For more information about the Mallet Brothers Band, check out their website.
Photos: Peter Bissell
Categories: Music
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