Acht nummers en veertig minuten lang schotelen Krissberg en zijn family ons de meest vette grooves en beats voor. De songs vormen als het ware een lekkere, broeierige pot zuiderse soul en rock, de ene keer laidback, de andere keer swingend als een tieten zo nu en dan beide samen.
Dit is zo'n album waar je qua blabla zéér kort in kan blijven. Ik vatte het reeds bij de eerste single The South samen: "Meer retro/vintage dan dit kan het bijna niet: vette guitar licks, een sompige ritmesectie, soulvolle backing vocals, honky tonk piano en een complete horn section." Blazers, backings en keys zijn in elk song ruimschoots vertegenwoordigd. Maar ook de gitaar neemt hier en daar een erg leuke lead. In Snake Dance komt in feite alles mooi samen. Dit is muziek die je in juke joints wil horen, waar je aan de bar of je tafel kan blijven genieten of je dansbenen strekken. Wat je ook kiest, je kan niet anders dan met volle teugen genieten.
Even vergelijken? Er staan in de pr-tekst al wat referenties. Het verbaast me echter dat niemand de jonge Joe Cocker vermeld. Niet qua stem, verre van, maar wel wat de muziek die hij in de jaren 60/70 bracht. Luister maar eens naar Red Mustang en spreek me tegen.
Kicked Out Of The Garden is de eerste full length van dit kleurrijke gezelschap. Het is zo'n album dat misschien niet lang duurt, maar dat ook geen enkele dip kent. Zo heb ik het graag.
Releasedatum: 8 september 2023
luister
lees
In a time when he was spiritually and artistically aimless, Family Worship Center’s shamanistic figurehead Andy Krissberg took a brief hiatus from creating music. He embarked on a freewheeling, soul-searching journey inspired by the late ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax. Krissberg visited remote places across the country, creating field recordings of musicians he met straight to vinyl on a 1940s record lathe.
His adventures led him to fleabag motels, sketchy back alleys, lonely restaurants, and dive bars. His crusade had him rummaging through old record stores, antique stores, swap meets for long forgotten albums, singles, artwork, and books. On one of his expeditions, in a now-defunct record store in Nashville, Tennessee, Krissberg stumbled upon a 21-page bible for a strange cult-like collective that billed themselves as Family Worship Center.
Leafing through the yellowed pages, he felt a strange resonance with the Family’s communal quest for Groove enlightenment. Family Worship Center proposed a simple prescription to achieve a utopian existence: Surrender material possessions. Walk to the beat. Never hurt another Family Member. In a private mystical moment, Krissberg vowed to adhere to these beliefs, and is now eager to share the message with others through song as the band, Family Worship Center.
Today, the Portland-based collective announces its revelatory debut, Kicked Out Of The Garden (CorpoRAT Records), which will be preceded by the single “The South.” Krissberg shares: “I have been able to share these documents, paired with teachings that have been passed onto me, to foster a collective of like-minded individuals to gather with the common interest of spreading the good word of Groove. Our program for living has helped myself and many others find peace and purpose within. We are a dedicated bunch from all walks of life, and our numbers are growing every day. We are more than a band—we are a way of life.”
Family Worship Center specializes in a strain of redemptive, 1970s-styled rock n’ roll that recalls the Rolling Stones, Leon Russell, The Band, and Delaney & Bonnie. The band formed in 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee founded by prophetic visionary, singer-songwriter and keyboardist Krissberg, but it has since relocated to Portland, Oregon. In 2020, Family Worship Center released the EP Sunday A.M. (2020) recorded by Grammy-winning producer Eddie Spear (Rival Sons, Blackberry Smoke, Lukas Nelson), and featuring musicians associated/who have played with The Band, Deer Tick, Ringo Starr, James Brown, Keith Richards, and Foxygen, among others. The Family’s latest offering—it’s first long player—Kicked Out Of The Garden, features a core band of devoted musicians, and was produced by Portland go-to producer Cameron Spies (Spoon Benders, Shivas) who specializes in what he calls “mid-fi.” Kicked Out Of The Garden was tracked in Portland with additional recording done in Philadelphia and Ukraine.
The 8-song album’s evocative title speaks to Krissberg’s transformative spiritual journey in achieving righteous communal Groove. “This album was written to draw parallels between the previously mentioned found documents and the many characters I’ve met throughout my travels,” he says.
Kicked Out Of The Garden is themed around Family Worship Center parables and memoir. On the storyteller track “Stella,” over triumphant gospel-rock grooves, Krissberg weaves in a John Prine-esque birth-family narrative loosely based on stories of Krissberg’s own aunt and uncle. The bright and blaring, horn-driven soul-anthem “Snake Dance” recalls early solo works by Curtis Mayfield, and speaks to our communal feelings of political and societal unease. There is a surging “we’re all in this together” feeling to lyrics such as: Well come on momma/Don’t you worry/bring your children/In a hurry/hey there sister/don't you cry/don't you care/don't ask why. The coming of age song, “Red Mustang,” has a slowly and stately 1970s rock ballad feel recalling the lighter-waving reflective songwriting of The Band and Derek and the Dominos.
