The Magic Lightnin’ Boys - Stealin’ Thunder
- Written by Julia Lamb
Cincinnati’s The Magic Lightnin’ Boys walk a fine line between modern rock and classic blues. With influences that include The Black Keys, Gary Clark Jr. and some older names such as as The Allman Brothers and ZZ Top, the four-piece band have cherry-picked inspiration from the best and the result is a musical palette that feels entirely their own.
The band’s latest album is Stealin’ Thunder. Opening track ‘Nan’s Poem’ is just as the title suggests, a sweet old lady reciting a short few lines atop a wailing harmonica. It’s an attention grabbing 40 seconds that reel you in before the album launches into first song ‘Bones’, a high-energy number that rides off a slinky Delta blues slide-guitar throughout. The band juxtaposes husky, lo-fi vocals that feel like something straight out of a Robert Johnson recording with a modern rock drum beat; the result is sound that hearkens back to the roots of blues while still feeling fresh and current.
Track three ‘Before The Storm’ is a sublimely delicate interlude that precedes ‘April Rain’, a feel-good number featuring gospel organs and the kind of lyrics you’d expect to find in a country song: “Well they always go home, go home to tell you that good love is hard to find/But one thing they never tell you is that it’s always better with a cheap ass bottle of wine”.
‘The Cleansing’ serves as a breath of fresh air on the album with its simple and serene layering of acoustic guitars, while ‘Roll’ brings things to life with a heavy groove and brass section. The Magic Lightnin’ Boys have concocted a sound that is utterly cool without feeling the least bit artificial.
Stealin’ Thunder is available via Amazon.