Originally planned as a solo album by Five Eight's Mike Mantione, The Power And The Glory became a band with the return of ex R.E.M. Drummer, Bill Berry. This is no Indie IRS affair though, it is at times a real Guitar Rock blast.
Berry, as you would expect, is getting a lot of attention, but he is just part of a five way collaboration that contributes to getting the songs bang on and those songs fall in to two categories. These simplified can be labelled as the fast and the slow.
The fast are an absolute blast, reminiscent at times of The Successful Failures. They rock your socks off. Their is a hint of Southern Rock, even Stadium Rock, with the big riffs and massive sound. Mile Marker 29 and All Of Your Friends Are Dying are real good ole boy fist pumping excellence.
The Ballad Of Satan's Bride goes even further, a real noise fest that allows the Guitar to head into Psych territory and even a little Nick Cave on the vocal. Thanksgiving 1915 is more big Rock, this time with a hint of Country and a corking Guitar solo.
The slower half of the album heads more into Americana territory. The songs are great, particularly the atmospheric Little Black Cloud and the big closing melancholic ballad, New York Murder Suicide, a song of real sadness. There is also a beautifully arranged instrumental present, Ode To Jose.
The album's theme is about the reaction to death and the big sound comes across as the Saturday night celebration and the slower songs could be the Sunday morning comedown hangover. The Bad Ends have offered up a fine debut album.
You can listen to and buy the album here.
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