The Paul Deslauriers Band - Relentless (2016) Lossless

Following up on the success of their self-titled album from 2014, The Paul DesLauriers Band returns with the aptly titled Relentless, a genuine blues-rock escapade featuring 10 new songs encompassing their most original and powerful work to date. Relentless indeed if you consider the pace at which the band has been working for the last two years with touring, writing and recording. The awards they keep racking up only confirm that hard work pays off. Adding to their multiple Maple Blues and Lys Blues awards and nominations they had a number one album on the iTunes Canada Blues Chart and in January 2016 they took home 2nd Place among 119 competing bands from around the world at the 32nd annual International Blues Challenge, held by the Blues Foundation in Memphis. Hot on the heels of that win they returned to Montreal to complete writing and recording Relentless and the result captures the very essence of The Paul DesLauriers Band.

A true collaborative effort on every front, singer-guitarist Paul DesLauriers, bassist Greg Morency and drummer Sam Harrisson approached this recording the same way they have in the past, three men playing together in the same room, capturing performances live off the floor; and this time they applied that philosophy to the whole creative process, writing and arranging all the music together from the ground up. Lyrics were penned by DesLauriers and long-time collaborator Alec McElcheran. Each member a virtuoso in his own right, what sets this power trio apart is their chemistry and uncanny musical interaction. Through the driving riffs on “Stewtro Rock (Just Got Back)” and “Ten Feet Tall”, the swampy grooves of “I’m Your Man” and “Still Under My Skin” and the heavy blues of “If I Still Had You”, you sense the power, the intention and most of all the unique sound these three have created. Heaviness is interspersed with funk, fun and cheeky double-entendre in tracks like “Gonna Make You Move (Part 1)” and “We Just Might”, the complexities of relationships and a life of chasing the muse are discussed candidly in numbers such as “Wipes Away Your Sin” and “Up In The Air”. Through every track, the personalities shine through, but what is most striking is the unity and the maturity radiating from this trio at the top of their game.

If the last album, 2014’s award-winning self-titled release, solidified the band’s stance in the Canadian blues scene, this album as well as their remarkable achievements over the last two years cements their position as one of the top Canadian blues-rock acts and and will maximize their influence on the international stage.