Slowman - The Invisible Son (2025) Hi-Res

This collection gets off to a rollicking start with “The Invisible Son” which’s pumped up with rock traditions, a dash of Americana paint & lots of barroom spirit. It has that Georgia Satellites, BoDeans, Black Sorrows & Del Lords hard-biting friskiness spread throughout each performance. People who don’t like to dance will shake a leg to “Restless,” & sing along to the excellent “Harvest Home.”

Produced by Slowman (lead & harmony vocals/electric & acoustic guitars/upright piano & harmonica) with Ola Cronholm (acoustic & electric guitar/organ/harmony vocals) & Christopher Gothberg (Nashville guitar/harmony vocals). The Invisible Son is their 6th LP & possesses 11 songs written & arranged by Svante Torngren that smell of beer, cigarettes & the scent of pine. It’s music that brings along an entire environment.

“Big Fat City Blues” lets loose with the notion of the old J. Geils Band & the Fabulous Thunderbirds. All the essential ingredients for an affirming rocky ride down a steep hill & into a clear cool pond. Love it. Love it because Slowman knows how to stir the notes in his remarkable repertoire. The most impressive tune comes with “On/Off” with its fiery guitar runs, stomping drums & Slowman’s skillful vocals.

The slower songs are well-sung but are a little more formulaic. Slowman’s voice, however, is fluid & endowed with enough bluesy ebullience to carry a tune like “Crying In the Rain” sufficiently despite its weight. What Slowman lacks is the vocal inflections of Elvis (“Power of My Love”) or Bobby Darin (“Funny What Love Can Do”). His tonality is excellent & the guitar runs have circuitry, but he needs a little more “entertainment” in his phrasing. I do hear it on “Walking Down Our Street.” The Canadian singer Alfie Zappacosta overcame that blemish (“Runaround”) & he’s a consistently marvelous vocalist.

“Let It Out” is a great workout with a Muscle Shoals, Alabama & Philly Soul feel-good commercial heft. Soulful, tight groove somewhere in that Archie Bell & the Drells type funk (“Tighten Up”) from 1967. This band cooks. Slowman has mastered the cross-pollination of several genres of music. Even “Eating Oyster” has a cool soulful urge driven by the Steve Cropper-type lead guitar notes. None of this is copying – it’s interpreted. Done wisely & well. The 2nd lead guitar comes away from the Cropper funk & simply converges & electrifies in a way that Sly & the Family Stone did in their “Dance To The Music” days. This is a good, good band.