Nine Mile Station - Bazar (2023)

This unit is starting to become Nine Mile Station with the frills being their enthusiasm alone. “Caught In the Rain,” is energetic, soulful & has attitude. The guitar work on this is fairly basic but there is a tinge of spirited quality that others don’t have – it makes the piece a disciplined performance. It possesses a vintage style but isn’t retro. The backup voices are quite good. This is not a good song; this is a brilliant song.

With “Who You Love,” the rural rock steam yields a full-throated soulful indulgence. It’s captured quite well with a warmth many black balladeers of the 60s possessed. The guitar on this is appropriately in a Steve Cropper-Muscle Shoals vein. Drums are funky & sting on the high-hat swipe. There’s a little Blood, Sweat & Tears’ David Clayton Thomas heaviness blended beautifully by Hawkins’ English folk singer John Martyn’s mournful yearning. Quite a departure.

“Santa Ana Winds,” unwraps with a deep-voiced Tom Waits-Nick Cave atmospheric & moody noir melody. “Theme From NMS,” finds Hawkins in his finest Bruce Springsteen tone doing it better than Bruce himself. But the real power is in Nine Mile Station’s performance. The unit has fiery power & sends out cinders as they play. The sound is pristine throughout the CD. No disappointments.

Highlights – “California,” “Caught In the Rain,” “Who You Love,” “She Walks,” “Santa Ana Winds,” “Theme From NMS,” “Breathe” & “Open Highways.”

Musicians – Nick Moran (drums/percussion), Fernando Perdomo (lead guitar/bgv), Brendan Vasquez (bass) with Michael Russek (piano/B3 Organ) & Lainey White (violin).