The Blues has always had an unhealthy relationship with the darker forces of the world. It’s a dirty job…and all that. And not only does the genre get that job done, but it also does it in a way that other sounds and styles fail to capture. And that is where we find the excellently titled Mangy Mutt. Raising hell…in more ways than one!
Sonically, “Devil’s Got Your Soul” sits somewhere between the core sounds of the genre and just before that crucial tipping point when the electric version of the sound became too commercialized, the bastion of blues millionaires in Armani suits. (I believe that at the point where you can afford such sartorial swag, you lose the ability to play the blues. Controversial? Perhaps.) Like I say, here we are talking about that sweet spot between authenticity and accessibility, artistry and energy. X marks the spot!
Our Mangy mate here gets it right. What he is is an authentic six-string gun slinger blending cool and creativity, tradition and adventure. A walking bassline and an unfussy beat are all he needs to lay out his tale of battling and bargaining with the Devil. And of course, the Devil is a metaphor for old habits and old wounds, for addiction and self-destructive patterns, our own poor choices and lack of will-power. The poor blighter makes for a convenient scapegoat for our own failures…but that’s the language of blues for you.
A blend of the fresh and the familiar, this is blues polished up and presented to the modern audience… the perfect coming together of what was and what now is.
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