Review Summary: Fun southern rock that just feels right
One thing must be unmistakably clear here; Bishop Gunn are a no nonsense southern rock outfit with the kind of originality that only comes around occasionally. Hailing from the deep southern state of Mississippi, the album title is nod to the band's hometown of historic Natchez. While many up and coming acts might try to cast a broad net in order to garner as much appeal as possible, Bishop Gunn cling to their roots with pride and offer up a truly honest and genuine rock album the likes of which haven't been seen in quite some time.
The band draws influence from many different places, the most obvious of which being Lynyrd Skynyrd, yet with a unique modern take. They can play harder rock oriented material like “Southern Discomfort”, slower blues inspired songs like “The Devil is a Woman”, and even upbeat grooving tracks like “Shine”, a song about being given an opportunity to shine and stand out, which the band does perfectly. Vocalist Travis McCready does a fine job of keeping the album fresh and lively, with a voice reminiscent of Chris Cornell, albeit with a bit of a southern twang of course. The rest of the guys do a fine job as well, with creative guitar solos and a rhythm section that truly keeps thing grooving along. A major highlight of the album would be the dark and gloomy track “Alabama”, inspired by the passing of famed country and soul record producer Rick Hall. The track incorporates vocal harmonizing, with stomping and clapping in lieu of traditional drumming and it just works so well somehow and is a great track to close out the album.
Bishop Gunn waste no time at all, each track flows into the next seamlessly with absolutely no filler. As far as first albums go, these guys really pulled it off well and managed to keep things fresh throughout the entire listen. Natchez deserves to be heard, for such an album only comes around so often in modern rock music. Looking for originality? Look no further, you just found it.
