American Thread “Fool’s Gold” First Listen
American Thread is a rock n’ roll band made up of Brendan Ahern on guitar and vocals, Geoff Downing on drums, and newer additions Michael Taggart on lead guitar and Gary Taggart on the bass. I gave their track “Fool’s Gold” a listen to acquaint me with the band and what they are doing…heres my thoughts.
The guitar tone kind of brings me back to my high school days, playing in rock n’ roll bands with my pals and just having a fun time. That’s what this music does for me. It’s really just fun, whether they are playing in your local dive, irish pub, or on a larger stage in the city, I think these guys would be a pretty great band to see live. There is a gentle, confident twang to Brendan Aherns’s voice. As with most Americana music, there isn’t a necessity for extreme faked tremolo or Pavarati type vocals. Ahern sings strong and simply, a little gravely but not too much so and with great tone. Balance is what I get from the song. At first I get a bit of Petty, but then I get something else that I am not sure of, and thats a good thing…keep me guessing and thinking, boys.
signed our names on the dotted line / we went looking for love, blood and wine
and you know, yeah it was fool’s gold
A lot of the lead guitar parts seem to be a bit lost in the mix. If I saw these guys live, I would really like that guitar tone to scream and maybe that’s how they do it. Regardless, this is a rather solid song, the structure is nice and I could picture is on college radio and doing relatively well.
Overall, I get some nostalgia from listening to these guys. I dig it, they do this well and I hope they continue to do this well and make some great headway in 2013.
Check these guys out on bandcamp…you can download the record for free, but seriously, its name your price, toss the guys a few bucks. And they just came off a great show (which I stupidly forgot to post this review before…sorry dudes) with Autumn Hollow Band, The Old Edison and Tigerman WOAH! at The Middlesex in Cambridge last night. Check them out soon though. THey play The Vintage Bazaar in Salisbury, MA on June 23. Good stuff.
