Music Review // Nikki Wozzo & The Bad Whiskey "The Bad Whiskey (Travellers Records)

 https://nikkiwozzoandthebadwhiskey.bandcamp.com/album/full-length-digital-bad-whiskey-album

The sound of Nikki Wozzo & The Bad Whiskey should be made apparent by the fact that the word "whiskey" appears in both the artist and album title.   Someone who likes whiskey so much that they put it into their artist name isn't going to have a sound that's easy listening or classical.   There is only one sound I think of when I think of whiskey and it is the sound of rock n roll.   It is the sound of a specific brand of rock as well, which Nikki Wozzo & The Bad Whiskey perfectly captures on this album.  

From bands such as Buckcherry and Lynyrd Skynyrd, there is a definitive sound of southern rock.   As easily as it can slow down into a blues number it can also speed right back up and show that driving quality.  I'm not sure if there is a genre name for that sort of rock that is good for long drives across America (see: "Radar Love") but it is present here and I am a fan of it as I have driven across this country.

"Old Man" has a honky tonk vibe to it- and they actually sing about the honky tonk later on- while "Rowdy" can take us into more of that ZZ Top / Steppenwolf sound.   With elements of country and Americana, this album isn't just about the sound but also the images which it can bring about in your mind.  This is the type of music you play at a biker bar and when someone comes in and objects to it a full on fight breaks out.   This is a lifestyle.

For all of the years of music since you can trace back to a similar style as this (and I'd even put Willie Nelson among the list of Highwaymen) it is rather remarkable that the artists who have this southern drive for rock are few and far between.  In the time since this music first really became a thing, you'd imagine there would be entire scenes dedicated to it with more bands than needed if anything else.  But these are the few.   These are the outlaws.   These are what Nikki Wozzo & The Bad Whiskey are all about and I'm here for it.