Every band has a different profile on the stage than they do in the recording studio, but when players are invested in the medium with a passion unique to their genre, it’s all the more evident in a live performance. Touch of Gray boasts an intimate relationship with the blues in their live rendition of “Deep Elum Blues,” and although there’s been a lot of fascination with delta swing music among indie rockers lately, this track doesn’t sound particularly common. This is because of the love our singers afford the melodies they cultivate and the hate with which the tone of the harmonies wraps around the guitar parts, as is the case in any truly great blues track. Contrast is king in this kind of music, and we’re reminded of that in this listen.
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The sobering percussive wallop that we find on the other side of a hazy bassline in “Deep Elum Blues” feels deliberately at odds with the melodic instrumentation in this mix, but it would seem every bit the intention of the band for us to feel a little bit of tension between these components. Grinding between the rather streamlined lyrics, we find instrumental war transpiring in this performance – pushing us, the band, and everything within earshot to the very edge, only to pull everything back into place before chaos erupts.
Touch of Gray’s control and cohesiveness is a real star in this performance, and something I would love to see for myself in person sometime. Recorded this past September, there’s certainly a late summer vibe to be enjoyed in the fluidity of “Deep Elum Blues,” but I’m not yet convinced the flow this band has would be restricted to this recording alone. There’s a sense of confidence in the music and each other here that I don’t see a lot of in the industry right now, especially with the relative lack of energy the underground blues scene has presented to the mainstream in recent times. To me, Touch of Gray resists the connotations of their handle quite ironically in a piece like this one, which further suggests a wit in their style that goes mostly unmatched in their contemporary scene.
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If you’re feeling the blue mood this January but don’t want to venture out into the chill to catch up with a straight-up cold beat, Touch of Grey’s live cut of “Deep Elum Blues” has your name on it. Although missing some of the polished edge that a lot of bands are adopting in concert recordings, Touch of Gray’s willingness to reject plasticity in the name of giving us their blue-collar sound here is applause-worthy on all fronts. Tonally speaking, they’ve got the chops of a casual rock outfit, but in terms of technique, this is a band giving up a modest sample of their capabilities in “Deep Elum Blues.”
I haven’t heard much of their music before this track, but based on the potency of their delivery and the overall connectivity through which they can communicate with each other in a live setting, I have a feeling I could get into a lot more of their work in the future.
Heather Savage