500 Miles to Memphis "Sunshine in a Shot Glass"
$20.98
FORMAT | LP
Named after the distance from the band's hometown of Cincinnati to Graceland, 500 Miles To Memphis plays rowdy, insanely catchy, sometime heartbreaking but always inspiring "country punk" on Sunshine In A Shotglass. These songs are whiskey-soaked in bittersweet lament, but this is definitely not an alcohol-fueled pity party. Rather, it's the slug of Jack Daniel's you throw back before crawling on stage to sing your heart out. Lead vocalist Ryan Malott is the impetus behind the band's heartache, and this soon to be acclaimed debut is undoubtedly his catharsis. While Malott's lyrics draw from afflictive personal experience and a weary western sprawl that only true country music can evoke, these rousing tunes are cranked out with punk grit and determination and a brash rock n roll attitude. Somehow it makes life seem a little more bearable and a hell of a lot more fun, at least for the duration of these twelve exhilarating songs. Slather on an infectious melody, some bright, brash guitars and a touch of bluegrass fiddle and suddenly tracks about cocaine-addicted friends and coma victims praying for sweet death ring out like the perfect, invigorating remedy for the honky tonk blues. It's the type of honest music that can prompt a sentimental, liquor-tinged therapy session between old friends or incite a raucous, fist-pumping sing-along amongst perfect strangers at your neighborhood pub. And that's a shot of firewater we're happy to take any day of the week.
