Denver funk and blues rock outfit Two Face West recently dropped their debut album, Postcards From Lonely Places, after ten years of touring and three prior releases: an EP, By the Book, and two singles.
The album, consisting of 11 studio tracks and a live cut of their popular 2017 track, “Freedom,” was not originally conceived as an LP.
Two Faces West shares, “If ‘Postcards from Lonely Places’ seems like a stylistic mess, it probably is just that. This album was originally conceived as a 5 song EP and slated for release in early 2020. Vince Carmellini joined Two Faces West in 2019 and the new line-up decided to write five additional songs, thus releasing Two Faces West’s first full length album. The result is a group of songs with essentially a very dynamic group of songwriters and players, with different flavors and moods.”
They add, “Many of the songs are based on true events, such as Moonshiners, about the secret lives of two brothers on the Eastern plains of Colorado, and the story of the Columbine Mine Massacre in 1927 that took place in the West Boulder Highlands from the perspective of one of the miners that was killed.”
The album is more cohesive than the band may think. Carmellini’s bass brings the funk to the forefront in tracks like “Ain’t Got a Clue” while the album toggles back and forth between junkyard country, folk styles, and more classic blues.
A compendium of all of Two Faces West’s styles over the years, Postcards From Lonely Places ushers in a new era for the talented trio while paying homage to its past, telling not only stories of American lives but of Two Faces West themselves.
Two Faces West comprises Kurt Ashmore (vocals, guitar, saxophone, banjo), Mick Knudsen (drums, vocals), and Vince Carmellini (bass, organ, vocals).
Highlights on the album encompass the opener, “Ain’t Got a Clue,” drenched in funk flavors riding a tight and right rhythm topped by Ashmore’s evocative, appealing tenor and big brass coloration.
Personal favorites include “Vegas at 3AM,” because of its tasty horn accents and James Gang-like percussion, giving the tune a deliciously loose, almost raggedy punch. Ashmore’s voice imbues the lyrics with slightly ominous tones, reflecting the thrill of sensory indulgence. A sleazy guitar solo infuses the harmonics with scorching, bluesy hues.
While “Brand New Suit” rolls out on muddy guitars reminiscent of Billy Gibbons, vibrating wickedly, dripping with dark, grimy tones. Listeners can feel the strings on Ashmore’s guitar bend on the solo, a bravura performance.
“Late Night” lights it up, revealing searing, lusciously malicious accents, traveling on a back-and-forth rhythmic beat that’s beaucoup raw. “Spinnin’ Circles,” another ZZ Top-like song, offers up marginally discordant guitar surfaces atop a slashing, angular snare drum. The blatting bray of the sax gives the harmonics a risky feel, followed by a fiery guitar.
With Postcards From Lonely Places, Two Faces West parades their gift for visceral blues, the kind that shakes your bones.
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