Their Flag is Planted Deeply in the Ground

The very talented and thankfully local band, American Revival is back with a new lineup and new EP called Thank Ya Kindly. Folks, the lads have done it again. It’s a North Woods corker!

From the first few wonderful seconds of the opening track’s acoustic guitar, I fell head over heels in love with their new EP. “95” opens up the record by firmly planting an alt-country flag in the ground and it’s very, very deep. The track also has a Byrds-like feel to it that I found refreshing and inspiring to the point of where I really wanted to take a road trip to..well…anywhere! Ah, the magic of music…

The second track, “Japanese Shark,” reminded me of why I love the voice of Thomas Pendervas as much as I do. It’s so all-encompassing and full, towering over the music in such a unique way that it actually magnifies each track as opposed to overwhelming it.

“Texas” reminds me of Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen with its haunting pastoral of our nation’s largest state. With this intriguing track, an exploration of thoughts as they travel from season to season, Pendervas taps into his existential intelligence and paints a story that is deeply touching. The EP’s last track, “Lights,” is a rousing number that does what every good song should do: make the listener feel nostalgic for a time that perhaps they have never had.

I certainly felt that way.

For those of you lucky enough to live in the Twin Cities, American Revival is having a CD release party on March 8th at Mayslack’s and a follow up show at one of my absolute favorite venues, the Kitty Cat Club, on March 15th. I’ll likely be at the latter on as my birthday is on March 16th and it might be nice to celebrate the opening minutes of it at 12:01am with one of the best bands in the Midwest!