2 minute read
Music: The Smoke Rings
THE SMOKE RINGS
Southern Illinois rock trio back again with upbeat, stripped-down California Gold
divide. Dominated by 6 and 12-string acoustic guitars and peppered with mandolin and ukulele, Acoustiverse dazzled with its expert musicianship and mature songwriting. But there's no buzz quite like band chemistry; just like on Modern Days, Jake sounds stoked to be back in the fold with The Smoke Rings' rock-solid rhythm section. Brother Chris and Jenks really bring this collection to life, especially on the heavier, grooveoriented tracks like "80 Dollar Guitar" and "Crystal Ball" - the former of which brings to mind Watts and Wyman locking in on a Stones classic, while the latter gets down and dirty like a bluesy, harmonica-drenched "Bang a Gong," complete with handclaps. Equally rhythm-driven is "Mountain Slide" which effectively amps up The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows," concluding with a delightfully noisy, extended instrumental jam.
Don't be alarmed, but The Smoke Rings are on fire - creatively speaking, that is. Earlier this year, the Southern Illinois rock trio blessed the tristate with the spacey, multilayered Modern Days, the first physical release from the band in ages. They were just getting revved up, however. A mere six months later, guitarist/vocalist Jake Martin, drummer Chris Martin and bassist Adam Jenks have returned with California Gold, a stripped-down good time that finds this ambitious threepiece getting back to rock & roll basics, often mining T. Rex for inspiration while also referencing the likes of the Doobie Brothers and the Grateful Dead. And yes, the album's 10 tracks are just as refreshingly organic as that all sounds.
Co-produced by Bill Watson, California Gold is actually Jake's third music project dating back to late 2020 when he debuted a magnificent solo work that examined the country's growing Edging more towards the Modern Days vibe, the fuzzed-out "Space Ramp" glides along on a Doobie Brothers-esque guitar riff paired with cosmic lyrics. "Do It All Again," meanwhile, echoes Acoustiverse with its chiming mandolin and philosophical bent ("If I could tell you one thing about everything that's happened, I'd do it all again") and "Sooner Than Later" takes a page from Elvis Costello's playbook, employing stabbing guitar chords and an infectious, insistent melody straight from the late 70s. Then there's "Always Moving On," a minor-key ska exercise that recalls Great Britain's classic Two-tone days. But California Gold's best track - or most emotionally affecting, at least - is surely "Thunder & Rain" which would fit quite nicely on the Dead's American Beauty with its gentle acoustic strumming and Jake's wistful vocals.
California Gold is bookended by two disparate tracks joined together via the sound of the ocean - fading in on the raw, one-for-the-road title track/lead single and fading out on the calming, surf-inspired instrumental "Land's End." No better way to open and close this upbeat, easy-going album.
