The Emperors of Wyoming are a country/folk rock band. Hearing that then if asked to name some bands they’re linked to, its unlikely that you’d pick Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, House of Pain or Garbage, but linked they are. If you look further down this review at the list of band members you’ll notice Butch Vig is the drummer. Butch Vig was a founder member of Garbage and played on all their albums, and as a producer he has worked with numerous bands including those listed above among many others, and was the man who produced Nirvana’s Nevermind album.
The four band members have known each other since the late 1970’s but being in different bands and different parts of the US for the last thirty years it’s only now that they’ve finally managed to all work together. Being based in different places is no longer a barrier to creating an album with the internet allowing ideas and tracks to be shared easily. All four band members have home studios so thye’ve been able to record their own parts and share them. The results are this debut album.
I must admit to having a moment of nervousness when I got this album to review – country isnt a type of music I’d describe myself as a fan of, so this could easily have been something I’d hate, or could be something great. Happily it’s the latter. Like most heavy metal fans, I probably have a stereotyped view of what Country music is – basically Country and Western as heard in a number of old movies. Happily though, after doing some research and listening to a number of different bands, I can confirm that Country music is a much wider genre than that and that it actually includes some really good music
Fans of rock artists such as Tom Petty are likely to really enjoy this album as the styles are very similar. This album has some tracks that could easily be Tom Petty songs as well as some that stray more into the folk or country genres (although the rock influence remains present throughout).
This album is a blend of folk, country and rock and has enough to appeal to fans of all three genres. It’s an excellent album and one that certainly surprised me and one that I’ve been listening to a lot lately.
”The Emperors of Wyoming” is out on 17th September 2012 via Proper Records.
The Emperors of Wyoming are:
Frank Anderson – Lead guitar, lap steel guitar, pedal steel guitar, keyboards, banjo
Pete Anderson – Bass, 12 string electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Butch Vig – Drums, Percussion, keyboards, backing vocals
Phil Davis – Lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric rhythm guitar, harmonica
Track listing:
1. The bittersweet sound of goodby
2. Avalanche girl
3. Never got over you
4. I’m your man
5. Cornfield palace
6. Brand new heart of stone
7. Cruel love ways
8. Sweep away
9. The pinery boy
10. Bless the weather
