Review: Mike Brandon Band (Soundcloud, Various Tracks)

In this installment of Mattowarrior's Metal Madness, we are going to not be reviewing a traditional “album” per se, but reviewing a soundcloud account with various songs, an EP if you will (reviewing songs). As the market increasingly (other than the vinyl resurgence) is oriented towards streaming, this may be the future of some of these reviews. The artist in question in Mike Brandon Band, is a band featuring the self described “greasy rocker/bluesman/songwriter”, Michael Brandon on guitar and vocals, Ethan Sawchyn on guitar, Jon Olcott on bass, and Scotty Roland on drums with numerous special guests littered throughout the songs. The first song I listened to was “Badlands”, since I am familiar with the Metal Church classic being one of my favorites, I said “why not”? Of course, this is not a cover of the song in question, but rather an original one, a countrified rockabillly-ish ditty with earnest but soulful vocals. It goes back and forth with this into a Southern Rock style jam for the chorus, creating a dynamic that is actually quite novel.

The second song I listened to was “Oh Brother”, a song that cleverly blurred the lines between something Stevie Ray Vaughn and the aformentioned Southern Rock influenced bands would muster up. Featuring some raunchy lyrics and tasty leads, I didn't like this as much as Badlands, but the solos (including some Hendrixisms effects-wise) definitely pushed the song up to a higher echelon.

“The Muckler” continues the harder rocking direction of the prior one, featuring a bit of the 70's hard rock tradition hinted at and excelled at. A better song than “Oh Brother” in my opinion, since the groove is obvious on this one. Leads that almost recall Michael Schenker or Slash (at least speedwise) as well as the Skynyrd greats at times really propel this one forward.

“No Place Higher to Go” continues in the same tradition, but I also hint a bit of classic 60's psychedelia in some of it's jams. With a haunting vocal melody that wavers in an out of reality and desolation, this one is a cool song that almost has a bit of Cream in it as well.

“How Come She Won't Go Down” is the last song I listened to (and I'm sure is a sentiment shared by women about many of their men as well, lol), and it's a fast number in the full Molly Hatchet hard rock tradition. A bit of (do I hear double bass on there as well?) this probably would be the song to appeal the most to readers of this blog. The song is exactly (lyricwise) as expected, but despite one's (possible( reservations about the subject matter, it's full pedal to the metal for this one, and it's quite a pay off in the end (pun intended).

Overall, Mike Brandon Band is a promising act that will undoubtedly hone their craft to perfection. The production is vintage, clean, and clear, and is another benefit to the band. I would definitely recommend this to fans of classic hard Southern Rock, as they do it right. A bit on the nostalgic side, (they definitely aren't doing anything “new” here, though a lot of “new” I will admit sucks), this band is definitely talented, and primed to take clubs and even your local radio station or streaming service by storm!

You can find more info on Mike Brandon Band at the following links:

Website: www.mikebrandonband.com
EPK: www.artistecard.com/mikebrandonband
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/mikebrandonband