If 'Last Train to Scornsville' is something of a curate's egg, then 'South Side of the Moon' is a Magpie's nest. One of the most eclectic and eccentric releases from the label this latest from former Antiseen roadie Gideon Smith and the Dixie Damned is also one of its most accomplished and enjoyable. It's a well-known characteristic of most Small Stone bands that they wear their influences with pride, but few of them wear quite as many as this outfit from North Carolina. Try sticking a pin into any of the thirteen tracks assembled here and another reference will trickle out: 'Indian Larry' is the Steppenwolf you always wished for; 'Blacklight Wizard Poster' is a Sabbath / Doors collision; 'Black Cat Road' walks the same ground as the Mississippi Allstars; 'Feather's Shadow' summons up a feral southern gothic Elvis; 'Shimmering Rain' straddles acoustic Allmans and The Cult alike; while 'Lay Me Down in Ecstasy' could be a variation on any number of 80's/90's heavy rockers in ballad mode. That the band has graced soundtracks from horror movies to the Sopranos is no surprise, given that the one thing that unites these diverse styles (as well as first rate playing and performance) is the ability to create an atmosphere of tension and impending menace, drawing the required level of danger from their chosen range of primal rock forms. It seems a bit of a cop out to quote from a band's own My Space page, but for these I'll make an exception, simply because I can't sum them up better. Their influences, they say, are drawn from the following:

'Bayou Swampy & Delta Blues, Trippy Psychedelia, old school 50's-70's rock, 70's outlaw country, Traditional southern rock, Creepy Doom, gothic rock and UFO bred alien influenced Space Rock. Once described as 'picture the Allman Brothers on acid, lost in the grand canyon'. Described as 'cowboy death rock', 'psychedelic biker rock' and 'southern gothic rock'.'

What's not to like?

Additional Details

Label: Small Stone Records

Genre: Metal

Run Time: 60 mins

Release Date: 04/29/08

UPC: 709764107924