Bruce Madden - Through The Amp (2020)

What Stands Out: For musicians and audiophiles in some circles, the word “dirty” has come to reverently describe heavy, distorted music – music that rocks, grooves or might make the listener involuntarily make that lovely sour candy face. Bruce Madden must run in such circles, as his new album, “Through the Amp,” is filthy– and joyously so. The album shows Madden, a veteran Grand Rapids musician and connoisseur of early electric blues records, interpreting some of those classics made popular by the likes of Little Walter and John Lee Hooker, among others. The album’s name refers to the way Madden records his vocals and harmonica: straight into vintage guitar amps. Those screaming tones, paired with an equally vintage-sounding rhythm section captured at Goon Lagoon studios in Grand Rapids, push the notion of dirty electric blues to sizzling and loud new heights. Here’s to hoping Madden and company budgeted for some earplugs in the process.
Digging Deeper: It’s a superbly paced album, bookended by two of Madden’s originals, “Future Tense” and “The House is on Fire.” Both tracks distinguish the more rocking and alternative sensibilities that sonically define the rest of the album. On “The House is on Fire,” a straightforward blues riff represents a certain stability at the song’s core. That stability is challenged by Madden’s brooding lyrics and two overdriven guitars, one teetering with deep tremolo and the other (the proverbial fire) heavily overdriven and played with a slide. It’s grim and delicious.
Perfect For: Drawing upon the wisdom of a bygone era in an attempt to make sense of the strange world we live in today. Perhaps there is some insight to be gleaned, or maybe it just sounds good. Who’s to say? – Devin Anderson