No
Deliverance
Todd Lewis - vocals, guitar
Mark Reznicek – drums
Clark Vogeler – guitar
Doni Blair – bass
After a long time away the Toadies
along with new bassist Doni Blair has hit the stores once again with their new album No
Deliverance. The Texas alternative rock band began back in 1989 and hits the shelves on music stores nation wide in 1994 with their debut album
Rubberneck which produced a huge hit and labeled them as a one hit wonder. “Possum
Kingdom” hit the airwaves in 1995 and climbed to #4 on the U.S. Modern charts as well as #9 on U.S. Main. After a long
touring effort they went back into the studios in ’97 and released the second album Hell Above/Star Below in 2001, but only 5 months after the release the band called it quits with a bitter brake-up.
Early 2008 the band started to play a few Texas shows then in May of ’08 with a myspace blog they announced an August
release date for the new album. The new album begins with the track “So Long Lovey Eyes.” The track has great
guitar presents and Todd’s signature creepy vocals. It really catchy, just like the hit track “Possum Kingdom”
and is hard to get out of your head. The next track “Nothing to Cry About” begins with an amazing guitar riff
backed with a solid drum beat that allows everything to flow right into Lewis’ vocals. They keep bringing up that same
great riff throughout the track. Next is the lead single and title track of the album “No Deliverance.” It is
a hard track that is just amazing. After this track makes its way on to the airwaves the one hit wonder will no longer be
there. If it doesn’t make it to at least a #25-30 song it is a shame and music lovers need to open up their minds a
bit more. Although it’s not the norm, it sticks out like a sore thumb and sometimes that just as good. “I Am a
Man of Stone” is another hard track that is a slow and steady adventure. The vocals are clear and the lyrical set shows
that the band has matured over the years. “Song I Hate” ends the first have of the album with an awesome track.
It’s a simple track that just straight up kicks ass. It just has that groove to it that grabs you beats your head into
the ground. It is very easy to follow and sing along. It does repeat some, but in this instance it fits well and it not a
stretch. The next track “Flowers” I’m not a big fan of. There is just something about it that just turned
me off. I think it’s the flow of the track; it just doesn’t fit very well. “Hell in High Water” begins
as a fast upbeat track that has a swing sound to it. It offers up a huge bass line and swinging style of drums. It’s
a super catchy track that would sound absolutely electric live. “Don’t Go My Way” is a slow track, but is
worked perfectly as it just as catchy a tune as the rest of the album. “One More” spins off the longest performance
of the record. It’s also a slower track than most on the album. The vocals and music are both dark just like the lyrics.
It is a track that needs to be listened to multiple times as well as reading the lyrics in the album book. The last track
“I Want your Love” is an odd 2 plus minute track that begins big a drum beat with Lewis’ vocals coming then
the guitars. It is just a filler track that really has no meaning to the track. Overall this is a great album from a matured
Toadies group. There are 8 outstanding tracks on the album with the exclusion of tracks 6 and 10. After begin out of the scene
for so long and to come back without missing a beat is amazing. The Toadies are back and hopefully this time for a while.
Rating: 8 out of 10
My favorite tracks:
Nothing to Cry about, No Deliverance, and Song I Hate
Track List:
1.
So Long Lovey Eyes
2.
Nothing to Cry About
3.
No Deliverance
4.
I Am A Man Of Stone
5.
Song I Hate
6.
Flowers
7.
Hell in High Water
8.
Don’t Go My Way
9.
One More
10. I Want Your Love
Website (s): www.thetoadies.com
