The blues: some got it, some don’t. Hailing from Calgary, Canada (not exactly blues country), agnostic mountain gospel choir have certainly got it- that, and a lot more. Mixing rousing drunken chants with clattering drums, busy banjo and a slew of slide guitar, AMGC, cover all the bases, from handclappin’ country and bluegrass to slow heartfelt bluesy stomps – all to great effect. This band encompass everything expected from these styles but have not so much updated it or reinvented, rather just done it their way. Never sticking in one place for too long, their soul is evident entirely throughout, from the raucous batterings of ‘You Got it Wrong’ and ‘Life is Long’ to the brooding howls on ‘Dumb It Down’ and ‘rainstorms in my knees’.
This is quite a noise to made from just four people, so much so that it is actually hard to believe at times, often feeling like an out of control party in a ragged cabin somewhere! With moods in all the right places, ups and downs in abundance, this could easily be one hell of a set list, but for now, its one hell of an album – my foot’s still tapping…