It seems a shame Deep Elm are having to limit their musical output to 1,000 CDs per release because 500 Miles To Memphis certainly deserve to have their music heard by many, many more people. Described by some as ‘rowdy, insanely catchy, sometime heartbreaking but always inspiring country punk, these songs are whiskey-soaked in bittersweet lament, but more like the slug of Jack Daniel’s you throw back before crawling on stage to sing your heart out’. And I couldn’t have put it better myself.
Lead vocalist Ryan Malott has a wonderful southern-style drawl to his voice, making the band sound gruff in an absolutely non-threatening way. There’s certainly a country-esque feel to various tracks – ‘I’ll Miss You’ has slide guitar which sounds like it could have been taken from Garth Brooks – while others have a bit of a bluesy influence. The upshot is an album with a number of cracking songs which will have you breaking out a bottle of whiskey, sitting around a camp-fire and whistfully reminiscing about the good old days. Top stuff.