Mississippi Queen & The Wet Dogs - Try Me (2019)

There are bands that in their own name have incorporated, more or less consciously, a reflection of the musical proposal they develop. So it is not difficult to decipher that after Mississippi Queen & The Wet DogsDespite the obvious reference to the subject of the Mountain hardrockers it contains, there is a group that generally draws on black music. Nor would it be very difficult to conclude that her organization chart is headed by a female lead voice wrapped in a band that provides depth and nuance. Elements that, these yes, guide us in a more accurate way by the definition of this project that, generated and expanded later, by the duo Inés Eleuteria and Aitor Zorriketa "The Malamute", has in "Try Me" their short album - or long EP if you prefer - debut.

In this habitual tirade that formations of this type face when dealing with old sounds and glorious past, these people from Bilbao are successful in a double plane: that of freely honoring these roots and that of finding the capacity to enter in contemporary terrain in order to mold them. In achieving this task, a good part of the weight, although not all, falls on the governing bicephalia. Because if the voice of its singer is determined, apart from its vocal qualities, by an admirable diction and phrasing, excellent credentials to engage in the lessons of certain divas of the genre, the six strings impose a "background" of rock intensity - let's not forget that its executor is integrated into formations such as Quaoar or James Room &Weird Antiqua- which fits perfectly into the consolidation of an expressive variety and the implantation of its own identity.

The eponymous song in charge of opening this work points directly towards the dance floor. Through a soul-funk belonging to the old school, of which we could highlight as a reference to Sharon Jones, he erects an avid rhythm, which does not run wild, in order to establish the perfect cadence for a balanced development. An incitement to the movement that will adopt its purest essence with "Speak When Spoken To", which, supported by some guitars full of groove, bring it closer to more racial proposals, like those of a Betty Davis. The trio of compositions, just half of the global, that signify that part most determined to shake the bodies is completed by the contagious boogie “Don't Wait Up”, at the same time disheveled and elegant to become the remedy against catastrophes everyday.

Placing a song like “Ray of Sunshine” out of that more accelerated step, if we attend exclusively to its revolutions, may not be appropriate, but the tone given off by a lucid and romantic gospel takes us, despite the hectic of several of its passages, to a sphere that induces relaxation and placidity. There will be no doubt, however, that we entered a much more intimate and slowed-down terrain with the arrival of "Lucky Red Dress", drawn with an insinuating cabaret-looking blues, or especially with "Long Gone", the quintessential ballad of the album , spectacular naked and raw soul, in the best tradition of Etta James, of moving substance.

At Mississippi Queen & The Wet Dogs we find all those natural elements of classic black sounds but without the slightest hint of inane photocopies or condescending tinkering aimed at demonstrating its technical ability, however much it was possible. What is relevant to this training, as evidenced by his awaited first job, are the songs themselves and the potential they contain to announce an identifying authorship. Thus, the mixture of ingredients they have offers a result of excellent execution and varied -but always juicy- flavor. We are therefore talking about a debut of those who grab and convey the certainty that something that well done can only choose the option of extending itself in time.