Outside The Lines
By Mike O’Cull
Contemporary blues outfit Misty Blues gets lowdown, relevant, and real on the group’s new release Outside The Lines.
Available now on Guitar One Records, Outside The Lines sings the present-day blues and charts one possible course for the future of American music. It’s Misty Blues’ 12th album and features the tight and talented core band augmented by a raft of featured artists and special guests. Most of the band members are multi-instrumentalists, as well, so there really aren’t any dull moments on this impressive set. Guitar master Eric Gales makes an appearance, as do Justin Johnson, Kat Riggins, Matt Cusson, and Petri Byrd.
The sound of the group is focused around frontwoman, songwriter, and cigar box guitar slinger Gina Coleman. Coleman is a performing artist like no other. She’s a low-voiced female singer with an unforgettable style, a fearless songwriter and storyteller, and an unparalleled onstage experience. She fits no mold but her own and is a ferociously original presence who stands tall in our often conformist world.
Coleman and band mates Seth Fleischmann (Guitar/Vocals), Bill Patriquin (Bass/Trumpet/Vocals), Benny Kohn (Keys/Vocals), Rob Tatten (Drums/Trombone/Vocals), Aaron Dean (Saxaphone), and Diego Mongue (Bass/Guitar/Drums/Vocals) share a diverse and exciting chemistry that flows like a river and never disappoints. They have appeared with the likes of Joe Louis Walker, Charles Neville, Tab Benoit, Roomful Of Blues, John Primer, Albert Cummings and Michael Powers.
In 2019, the band was also a finalist in the prestigious International Blues Challenge. Misty Blues has been active for over 20 years but still hits every note with the fire of a young band with a lot to prove.
Outside The Lines gets going with the heavy and righteous “Where Your Blues Come From.” The song sits on a big, overdriven riff with a rock spirit but what Coleman does with it is pure blues. Her lyrics speak to the idea that we all have the pain of the blues inside us and a story about it worth telling. “Any tale can be retold,” she sings, reminding us that the process of telling helps us better understand ourselves and the world around us. As an opening song, it’s an incredibly strong moment that feels like a statement of unity and intention about the music that follows.
“I Don’t Sleep” is a mournful, minor key work song done as a duet with Gina’s uncle Petri Byrd, who is actually the bailiff from the hit television show Judge Judy. Their voices blend and commiserate in a deeply empathetic way that only comes from the pressue of having mouths to feed. It’s a slow-burn sort of track that packs a lot of intensity and hard truth into its four-minute run time. Many of us will likely recognize ourselves in this tale of life “on that beaten track” and it makes for a sobering perspective. The band is amazing here, especially the horns, and they enhance, not obliterate, the meaning of the lyrics.
The funky “Every Which Way” is an irresistible clapback aimed at those people who always have a negative commentary on anything you do. Coleman and her backup singers tell the haters off with attitude and grace over a popping bass line that will quickly get you in motion. Though Coleman is a standout in any context, this and the rest of the album vibes like a group effort. All involved are so deep in their communal grooves that they actually do move as one.
“Been A Long Time Coming”
The great Eric Gales brings his immense guitar talents to dramatic slow jam “Been A Long Time Coming.” Gales is a brilliant player who always transcends all expectations and is arguably the finest guitarist of his generation. Hearing him play alongside Coleman’s rich, low vocals is an epic treat for all lovers of modern American music.
Outside The Lines is a musically and emotionally powerful record that turns personal truth into shared and acknowledged stories. It has an unquestionable humanity to it that’s anchored in the days we’re living right now, not the distant past, but never forgets that those times were not that long ago. Misty Blues are on-target, relevant, and loaded with soul.
Misty Blues website
Excellent, insightful review.