
There’s a pop hook in every blues song, but you can’t always hear it straight away. You might need to rattle it, turn it upside down, or speed up the sound. And, there’s plenty more darkness beyond the tales of crossroads and poisoned whiskey. You just need to squint your eyes and make believe it’s the dead of winter.
Not every modern blues artist can hear the hooks or feel the darkness. Most of them just know the blues scale and like playing Stevie Ray Vaughan songs in a bar. While that’s fine enough, Rosetta West are looking to slip into a hypnotic groove with their blues playing. They hear the hooks, they feel the cold, and they’re hoping you’ll join them for the ride.

“Night’s Cross” is a swampy collection of blues material that won’t help you find yourself, but will certainly assist in getting you lost. This Illinois band plays psychedelic blues that emphasizes groove and grit.
Just listen to the album opener, “Save Me,” a blues number that you could equally play to purists of the genre or to bikers dressed in leather. The vocals are gruff, distorted and occasionally slide in and out of the groove, but there’s it’s a hooky song, with the chorus tying up all loose ends.
Ever wondered what ZZ Top would’ve sounded like without the 80s pop influences and with an extra dose of danger to their sound? Well, the honourable Billy Gibbons would surely appreciate the stomp of songs like “Suzie” or “Baby Doll” and ask himself why he can’t remember recording them.
Those are mighty good fun, but the darkness that I mentioned earlier isn’t hidden. You can hear it loudest when the band gets really quiet. The acoustic slide guitar of “Ready to Go” is an excellent song that almost merges the blues to medieval European music. “Cold Winter Moon” sounds like an ancient curse put to music and is another winner. And “Desperation,” with its chants and primitive drumming, resembles what you’d imagine the Vikings that found the Americas and discovered the blues might sound like.
But that’s not to say Night’s Cross doesn’t have a sense of humour or isn’t interested in seeing that you’re entertained. There are more hooky classic slide guitar blues on “Alligator’s Farm” and “Underground Again” to satisfy your fantasies of leaving it all behind, marrying a witchy woman, and living out by the swamps.
Old blues invented most of the last century’s pop music. But modern blues can often be like a chore. Rosetta West’s “Night’s Cross” doesn’t. It is blues music played with the intensity of someone running a cult. But it’s fun, it’s easy to remember, and it’s delivered with complete commitment.
Social media links