The Nash Brothers - The Nash Brothers

The Nash Brothers

The Nash Brothers
self-released; 2015

3.7 out of 5

By Mike Przygoda
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The Nash Brothers EP by The Nash Brothers is a fantastic collection of heavy dark classic rock bluesy stomps. Combining growling vocals, facile guitar playing and huge bass and drums, the EP really shows off a tight knit band.

“Accordion Shark” opens the EP with dropped guitar tuning echoing acoustic Zeppelin with deep low tones and bluesy/folky chords. Once the gritty vocal enters, the song turns much heavier with drums, bass and electric guitar dropping in with a thunderous crash. The song employs a great build throughout never peaking or standing still, but constantly adding to the drive and groove as if playing at a midnight revival meeting in the woods with Robert Johnson. The solos and riffs are good, and the rhythm section huge without being overpowering.

“Faces In The Mountain” continues the Jimmy Page riff-a-thon, playing over a great pattern of drumsticks on the rim. It adds a quasi-folk element to the heavier bluesy song and makes for an excellent contrast for when the song opens up into the main groove. The instrumental goes on a bit long without much happening, but there’s some great slide guitar work later on in the song producing exciting countermelodies that interweave with the lead vocal.

“Jimmy Lima Lamp” features an almost Tom Waits-ish vocal that is smoky and gritty which eventually evolves into the bluesy “come hither” nature of Jim Morrison.  Based around a shuffle, the guitars and drums chug along for most of the verse before opening up into a halftime feel. It’s a clever and effective contrast, really letting the vocal stand out and the lyrics come across uninterrupted but fully supported.The song could benefit from some editing, it does go on a bit long. That said, the bass work throughout is admirable and worth listening to as its own journey throughout the song.

“Norheimsund” closes the EP with a takeout intro of quiet introspection before an explosion of snare drum hits propels the song into a driving dangerous groove. There’s some great tom work on the second verse and some cymbal features along with rim clicks on the third verse, making each section contrast with a previous one in a smart way.   

The contrasting sections of the last song are a great indicator of songwriting to come.  The Nash Brothers thrash and groove well through their songs with lots of energy and power.  Adding some contrasting sections to some of those songs could let them stretch out even more.

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