My Own Holiday - Reason to Bleed (2015)

Tracklist

01. Hold on Me
02. Razorblades
03. Two Coins
04. Memphis
05. Devil in Me
06. Reason to Bleed
07. Whiskey in the Well
08. On the Floor Blues
09. Smile
10. Stone Free
11. Stranded
12. Don't Shine on Me
13. Right Back Where I Started

It might be easy to lump My Own Holiday in with other Guitar and Drum ensembles, like The Black Keys or The White Stripes but on their latest album, Reason to Bleed, My Own Holiday carve out a niche all their own. Their traditional meets modern approach is blues for the next generation.

Joey Chrisman’s post Nirvana voice could very well redefine what the traditional blues singer sounds like. He’s vulnerable in all the right places and just when you think he’s about to falter he flexes his muscles like Popeye after downing a can of spinach and puts a whooping on your ass that you’ll feel for days. Nick Bartolo’s drumming is solid and holds the low end together so well that you don’t really miss the bass guitar. The stripped down sound serves the material very well. There is no overplaying or long jams. My Own Holiday seems to have adopted the Tom Petty philosophy of “don’t bore us; take us to the chorus.”

The album opens with a groovy little rocker, “Hold On Me” and progresses from there. “Whiskey in the Well” is a David Rawlings-esque acoustic ballad, and “On the Floor Blues” is an example of how these guys can play down and dirty blues with the best of the them. They reinvent boogie rock with the track “Smile” and create one of the most interesting moments on the record.

While there is definitely a lot of rock and roll on Reason to Bleed, don’t be fooled. Chrisman and Bartolo are blues men at heart. Reason to Bleed is spattered with all the blood and guts that made Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Water’s such powerful artists in their day.With Reason to Bleed, My Own Holiday joins the fraternity of blues based acts like Gary Clark Jr. and others who are redefining the genre.

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