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ESCALATOR
Dave Coleman and his band, The Coal Men have been playing their vibrant roots-fused rock music for close on 15 years and this fourth album mixes full-throttle Americana music with an introspective singer-songwriter approach. It sounds like the South. It sounds like Tennessee. In fact they’ve even included a song titled “Tennessee” a folk-rock homage to his home state in which the
Jamestown, Tennessee native sings: ‘Put my Wings to the wind/Leave the rest to the sky/Keep on painting on my pictures/Until the day I die/in Tennessee.’ There is a whole lot more to this stripped-down rock and roll affair. He paints glimpses of small-town life, economic struggle, and the complexities of romantic relationships in straight-ahead rockers like “Role Model” and “Broken Heartland.” Then there’s the atmospheric “Lonoke, Arknasa” a pedal steel and electric guitar mood piece that closes the album and dares you not to immediately press the repeat button. I couldn’t resist several times over. So take a deep breath and enjoy the Coalmen’s ESCALATOR … I guarantee it will take you up, up and up.