Delta Groove Productions
2009
At Least I'm Not With You
About This Album
The Insomniacs came blazing out of the gate with a big, bold West Coast blues sound that was as much R&B as it was jump blues and swing. Portland, OR is better known for its alt rock scene, but the Insomniacs have been burning up local clubs since they launched their career in 2007. They won that year's Muddy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Act, despite their retro feel, and their first album, Left Coast Blues, was nominated for a Blues Music Award for Best Debut. They follow their impressive premiere with this platter, an even more remarkable set written and recorded in just two days. The band is tight and divides the program between obscure covers and their own high-octane originals that show them as an original force to be reckoned with. "Description Blues," the most traditional-sounding tune, is a tale of infidelity, and Vyasa Dodson's tortured vocal is full of passion and frustration. Alex Shakeri's Hammond B-3 tales an extended solo that's both jazzy and blue followed by Dodson's workout on guitar, full of bent notes, long sustains, and lightning-fast runs. "Maybe Sometime Later" is a Howlin' Wolf-style Chicago blues, a slow, swampy groove with a sly sexy lyric.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9)

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