Skylar Rogers - Firebreather (2021)

The indomitable Chicago-born blues singer, songwriter Skylar Rogers blasts back into our skies this year with new album Firebreather, featuring ten new songs of passionate “Soul Rockin’” blues to release January 29, 2021. Rogers released her debut EP Insecurities in 2019 and began touring nationally before the pandemic brought disruption. On Firebreather she’s backed by her regular band, “The Blue Diamonds.” Stephen J Hill and Marty Gibson provide twin guitars alongside bassist Jerry Ewing, keyboardist Pete Zimmer, and Bradley Arl on drums. All tracks here are originals co-written by Rogers herself.

Opener “Hard Headed Woman” is a rousing blues-rocker and a great way to kick off the album, a spiritual paean to some of Rogers’ heroes, who include Etta James and Tina Turner. It’s not a stretch to imagine a knowing wink to the original hard-headed rock ‘n roll woman, Wanda Jackson. The band are tight, muscular and cohesive, forming a solid backbone for Rogers’ vocals. Her voice bears more than a passing resemblance to the aforementioned Tina Turner; effortlessly strong, with a rounded blues cadence. When Rogers sings, you believe her. That’s not a trait that all singers possess.

“Back To Memphis,” another bow to her music’s roots, sways and rolls with a sweaty, swampy vibe. That twin-guitar attack, so well utilized by the early Rolling Stones, propels with subtle power, catching the ear and lifting the song. Pete Zimmer’s keys broil and burn. Ewing and Arl do a great job of conjuring up a striding, strutting back-beat. “The life I knew is over, but I know I was meant for more,” sings Rogers, whose irrepressible spirit is hard to ignore. “Going to get lost in the music, till my soul is finally free.” Title-track “Firebreather” jumps and skips with foot-stomping energy. It’s a highly engaging, shuffling blues, elevated, like all the tracks here, by Rogers striking delivery. More kudos to Zimmer’s buzzing, floating vamps, which swirl wonderfully around his fellow musicians.

Born and raised in some of Chicago’s roughest neighbourhoods, music has always been integral to Rogers’ world. She has “lived the life,” as old blues masters used to say. This is one tough woman. Surviving abusive relationships, homelessness and the stillbirth of her child, to bounce back to where she is now, speaks volumes regarding Rogers’ strength and her spirit. It is this strength and spirit, channelled through her voice and her music, which lifts Firebreather above your average fair. That some of Rogers other influences include Whitney Houston, B.B. King, Koko Taylor and Motown should come as no surprise. Firebreather combines the rich and earthy sound of the blues with the slickness and sheen of Motor City pop and the enduring appeal of the great soul divas.

“Drowning,” slows the pace with some stirring, hypnotic blues piano, soon joined by rumbling, restless drums and sinewy guitar. “Your memory is a past that haunts me,” sings Rogers. It’s a remarkably effective and affecting track, alternately skeletal and stentorian. “Thankful” is classic Chicago-blues territory, urban and gritty but with eyes raised to the heavens. It is further evidence of Rogers’ talent that she sounds just as at home here as on the faster, more fiery tracks. “Insecurities” closes the show, an ebullient rocker, which reminds us to value ourselves for who we are, not how we look; timely advice for today’s social-media obsessed society.