A friend recently told me a story of how he handed his ten year old son a cassette tape and asked him to put it on, but he had no idea what to do with it. While the cassette tape has been an obsolete medium to listen to music for quite some time now, to the point where younger generations don’t even know how to use them, they still have that nostalgic and cool factor to them. Cursed Arrows recently released a five track cassette for the Death Rattle Blues single, a predecessor to their third full length album set to be released later this year. All the songs on the cassette are previously unreleased by the band including two acoustic tracks and two covers.
The duo of Ryan and Jackie Stanley know how to make a lot of noise for two people. The lead track Death Rattle Blues is four and a half minutes of blues rock that holds back nothing as cymbals crash, blues guitar rips through the speakers, and vocals build up and are delivered with a sense of urgency. The first cover is of Beck’s song Pay No Mind where the duo are able to substitute Beck’s acoustic guitars for an electric version. Covers are always more enjoyable when a band can make them their own like Cursed Arrows do here with a gritty cover. The second cover is of PJ Harvey’s Rid of Me. When listened this cover and the original are listened to back to back it is apparent that PJ Harvey is an influence on the band. The other two tracks show a softer side of the band with live acoustic cuts of the tracks Carefree Chemicals and Not The End. Carefree Chemicals contain fast paced unplugged acoustic guitar and vocals that sound a little too raw and are borderline annoying at points. Not the End, which in fact the end of the album, features Jackie taking on lead vocals on a track that is close to a ballad as you’re going to get with Cursed Arrows.
Overall this cassette is worth the $3 investment on their bandcamp site (or free digital download). In just five tracks they have put together a fun little collection of acoustic tracks, covers, and a lead single that should leave listeners excited for the full length album scheduled to be released later this year.
Cursed Arrows will be playing the LLTQ fundraiser on Friday January 14th. See the facebook event for more details.
Cursed Arrows – Not The End (Southern Souls Session)
