PEARLENE For Western Violence and Brief Sensuality CD

Covington, Kentucky is not really known for the blues, but Pearlene is loudly putting it on the map as it cranks out some of the heaviest—and convincing—psychedelic blues to hit the American street in years.

This powerful band’s incendiary third record opens deceptively with a rollicking barrelhouse piano, but the track veers quickly into a greasy, guitar-fueled groove that leaves whimsy behind and hints at the urgency ahead. Three tracks later, on “Watch the Way,” Pearlene put their pedal down and lock into bottom-heavy bass, churning psychedelic guitar riffs and a wary, almost sinister vocal by Rueben Glaser that sounds like someone might just get a knife pressed to their throat.

The tracks, alternating between southern shuffles and heavy-duty dirges, are immediate and raw, but they never press too hard. Pearlene lets haunting songs like “I Hate the Blues” unfold at an appropriately languid pace. They’ve already learned to let the blues fill in the gaps.

A slew of good young bands are reinventing psychedelic blues. Put Pearlene at or near the top of the heap. [High Dangerous]

-Michael Coleman