Bound South – A Gambler Knows A Cheat
There’s not much point in watching the news every night. All they show are reruns. It’s not even the fact that most of the broadcasts are purposely designed to make you angry, but how can you still enjoy the world when there’s so little of it left to the imagination?
That’s why most people are packing it up and moving inside their brains once more. Statistics and predictions show a growing interest in fantasy entertainment of all sorts. Whether it’s novels about flying dragons or tales of revenge in the North American South, people need nourishment for their imaginations.
But the fact is that audiences also have expectations. Many of them have been spoiled, not just by choices, but by the quality of great works of fantasy. Bound South is a band that knows it isn’t just competing with contemporaries.
There’s something about “A Gambler Knows A Cheat” that brings to mind the epochal “Me and My Uncle.” There’s a similar interest in monetary gain, violence and revenge, all set to a pleasant folk tune. One important difference, however, is that Bound South adds some Southern rock flavours to the mix. The other difference is that right now, people are readjusting to enjoying stories for their pure entertainment value. And, “A Gambler Knows A Cheat” is a well-told story.
Cannon Rogers – Puppies, Pretty Girls, and Cold Beer
The way they get you is by making you believe that protest songs are dusty heistoric heirloom, something that a Netflix comedy set in the ‘60s might use as a prop to throw in a bunch of jokes that never land. The way that they get you is by making you believe that being upset and saying something about it is ridiculous.
They try to make you feel that it’s demeaning to you, that it’s a waste of time, and that bad things have always happened, and that’s just the way it goes. The way they get you is by making it uncomfortable for you to say your truth.
But getting a glimpse of the truth is enough to keep you up at night. It’s enough to make you want to start blabbering while making coffee, and keep talking until you finally meet someone who will listen. Cannon Rogers has, fortunately, decided that there’s nothing more important than writing a modern protest song.
What’s the first thing to protest against? Wadda ya got! Rogers’ “Puppies, Pretty Girls, and Cold Beer” is, fittingly, a Woody Guthrie-inspired folk song with lyrics that are funny, surreal and heartbreaking, much like the real world. That makes the song important, but it also happens to be very good with Rogers swinging those slippery lines of his from left to right until you’re hypnotised and convinced that if enough people start talking,e everything will be alright.
