Mississippi Witch – Black Gamble
You may not have heard of this dynamic duo, but there is little doubt in my mind that you will… very soon.
Mississippi Witch is comprised of Oli Walker (guitar/vocals) and Dan Danby (drums). Although there are only two members of this band, the sound that explodes forth may as well been coming from five or six musicians. Their debut record “Black Gamble” will take you on gritty, soulful, ass kicking journey through the under belly of rock and roll.
These guys are both bible belt escapees (as they put it) who apparently met quite randomly at a Snake Church in Baton Rouge. Their story only gets stranger as Oli and Dan ended up in London to record their EP “Just for Roosevelt”. Oli was born in Mississippi and Dan was born in New Mexico, so you might say that these guys just go where life takes them. And thankfully so.
Oli Walker’s vocals have that elusive quality that can only come from deep within a person’s being. He has a style all his own, and he owns it well. Walker’s guitar playing absolutely shreds all over the album, from beginning to middle to end. He has all the talent of Jack White or Kurt Cobain, and when you have something like that, it doesn’t stay a secret for very long. Honestly, I almost couldn’t believe that Oli can sing and play like this at the same time.
Dan Danby is no slouch either. In fact, it would be easy to say that this duo has clear advantages over say, The White Stripes. Dan can drum for one thing. In my opinion a duo like this forms because they realize that they just don’t have the need for another band member.
My favorite tracks on the album have to be “Just for Roosevelt”, “Albuquerque New Mexico” and “Van Nuys”. But “Calipah” and the title track “Black Gamble” are up there too. I think this album should do very well to say the least. The new album is not out yet so like I said, when it does come out on January 21st, I think you will be hearing about it again.
Oli Walker will be sitting down with The Mughead Review for an interview next week too, to talk about all sorts of things, check back for that soon. As always, I recommend you listening for yourself, which you can do by going the Mississippi Witch website, as well as their myspace page.
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