In support of their latest release, Goodbye to the Rank and File (In Music We Trust, 2010), Portland, Oregon’s Casey Neill and the Norway Rats will be barnstorming up and down the West Coast in November, December and into January 2011.
Where their debut album, Brooklyn Bridge, had a strong New York feel to honor Neill’s roots there, Rank and File is strongly rooted in his new Oregon home. Thematically, it is bookmarked by the defiant riff-laden power pop of “When the World Was Young” and the world-weariness of the Steve Earle-esque ballad “Guttered.” The 12-track album is also rife with imagery of water and the outdoors, whether the uplifting roots rock of “All Summer Glory” and the fingerpicked ballad “Idyll,” the country shuffle of “Radio Montana” or the falling rain that punctuates the dramatic “Ouroboros,” “When the World Was Young” and the gospel-inflected “Stonewall.”
The Norway Rats are notorious for hard-rocking live shows, and they’re a band that’s spent a lot of time woodshedding these songs. Behind Neill are Little Sue on guitar and superb harmony vocals, Ezra Holbrook on drums, Chet Lyster on guitar, Jenny Conlee on piano, organ and accordion, Hanz Araki on flute and Jesse Emerson on bass.
This is a strong collection of songs, and along with others in Neill and the Rats’ repertoire, ought to make for a fine show.
Here’s the tour schedule, and down below you can stream or download the CD’s first track, “All Summer Glory.” Enjoy, and for more go to Neill’s website or MySpace page.
Gary Whitehouse
TOUR DATES:
11/11/10 – Sam Bonds – Eugene, OR
11/12/10 – Coastal Celtic Festival – Yachats, OR
11/13/10 – Coastal Celtic Festival – Yachats, OR
11/19/10 – Secret Society Ballroom – Portland, OR
11/20/10 – Conor Byrne – Seattle, WA
12/02/10 – Old St Francis – Bend, OR
12/03/10 – Humbrews – Arcata, CA
12/07/10 – Silverlake Lounge – Los Angeles, CA
12/08/10 – Bar Pink – San Diego, CA
12/09/10 – Starry Plough – Berkeley, CA
12/10/10 – Caspar Inn – Caspar, CA
12/11/10 – Beginnings – Briceland, CA
01/07/11 – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
01/08/11 – Tractor Tavern – Seattle, WA
01/21/11 – Double Down Brewing – Hood River, OR
02/27/11 – Traditions (solo show) – Olympia, WA
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Listen or download: 01 All Summer Glory, with thanks to Alex at In Music We Trust.
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