Reviews:: The Mississippi Kings Long Time Comin'

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I guess as we approach Remembrance Day here in Canada, it’s fitting to talk about a band that is unwilling to forget the past. Hamilton’s The Mississippi Kings have released their debut record – Long Time Comin’ – and although the album title probably has more to do with the band’s journey, it could just as well signify the bands that help The Mississippi Kings find their sound.

You see, TMK play a brand of blues/soul/rock that seems to have long since moved out of the popular ear. People don’t talk about The Band and even with the influx of white guy soul, the energy and sounds of Motown are long since gone, but you’d think the Mississippi Kings grew up down in the Bayou in the 70’s, instead of amongst the steel plants of Hamilton. Things in music have changed dramatically since then. Bands forgot that music was supposed to be fun and hushed, intimate folk tales over obscure instruments have usurped guitars and blasts of horns, but The Mississippi Kings are trying to change all that.

The gritty, organ heavy Some Revolution sets the tone for the album, and the sing/shout along chorus creates a backporch foot stomp that fills you with hope. TMK understand that music doesn’t have to be complex to be great, it either makes you move or it doesn’t and as they flow into the Sunday soul of Sailing Along the Ocean (a jam I fell in love with this summer), it becomes impossible to sit still.

But the boys from Hamilton are more than soul tinged sing-alongs. Dusty numbers like This Old Melody and the perfect closer, Best Be On Your Way (Little Boy) mix with the country soul anthems and guitar heavy, slow burners (I Tried So Hard) to give this record heart and depth. Look, it’s easy for a band to try to replicate the sounds we all grew up loving, but it’s hard as hell to pull it off and The Mississippi Kings do that with ease.