Exebelle and the Rusted Cavalcade – Vivement l’Automne
Exebelle and the Rusted Cavalcade have quickly become one of my very favorite country acts. These Virginia natives have already released two superb EP’s and this last month they dropped their latest seven-song offering “Vivement l’Automn.” Man, this record is effin’ badass.
I finally got to this one last night on my drive home to visit my family down in Bakersfield, and I was so jacked up when I heard the second track, “Rosasharn”, which is written about the book “Grapes of Wrath.” If you aren’t familiar with the story, it tells the tale of the “Oakies” as they travel through the Dust Bowl on their way to Bakersfield. It was pretty cool to hear some of the stories of my city’s past in a rumbling, hell-raising country song. From there, Exebelle slows things down a bit and the following tracks really play like a country-Pink Floyd. Kind of a weird description, but that’s the best I can do. I was jamming down I-5 in the dark night and when “Lithium Smile” came on, I hit repeat about six times. It put me in a complete trance and I was really taken by the vocal harmonies and weeping steel guitar in the background. This is a truly epic track. By the end of the EP, I was jonsen’ for some more upbeat music from the band and they absolutely delivered with the perfect pop song “Harboring The Tygers.” Again, the vocal harmonies and track production on this song are incredible. Exebelle really pays attention to detail when they are in the studio and because of that, they are able to create some of the very best country songs I hear.
So guys, don’t sleep on this EP. It can be easy for us to ignore small offerings from bands as we wait for a full-length. Exebelle seems happy putting out new EP’s for us to hear every few months, and I’ll tell you, I really enjoy that about them. Besides, with three releases in less than three years, put ‘em all together and you have a nice double-album! Whoop whoop! I should also tell you, the cats in the band are absolute studs and really nice doods all-around. We’re hoping for some tour dates out West at some point and you can bet your bottom dollar that we’ll be there.
The group is cool enough to give their records away at a cost of $2-3 dollars, so make sure you head over to their pay site and throw ‘em some love.
“Rosasharn”
“Lithium Smile”
“Harboring The Tygers”
