A.P.F. is made up of
brothers Joshua and Jon Moser, on guitars/vocals and drums respectively, and
Josh Seibert, bass guitar, and these guys don't mess around. Ballsy, filthy, full
of attitude and mature like the trio has been around for decades already. What
I mean is A.P.F. belie their age that few, almost no bands this early in their
career can touch upon. Apart from musical prowess bar none, the guys are
absolutely fearless which is extremely telling in all the songs on ‘Gold Lead Iron’. Doubt they know what
restraint means and that’s how all bands should be. I might sound like a sappy
old oaf but man, what the band creates makes me scream “hallelujah, holy shit pour me another drink!” while thrashing
around my place with no abandon. Yes, this album is that great, you hear!
Relentlessly, ‘Hold Me Down’ catapults ‘Gold Lead Iron’ into the stratosphere
from the word go with it’s finger-picking sounding electric guitar, machine-gun
toting drumming and trance inducing thumping bass guitar. The verses builds up
only to explode in the choruses, where A.P.F. goes full tilt with their
electrifying, brimstone smelling Louisiana
blues. ‘The Bends’ is slower – for
the most parts – and more jam inspired, well until the choruses, that is.
Heavily pounding drums allows the band to go all out, only to revert to a
suggestive stance with Joshua crooning amazingly. ‘Wanna Be Your Man’ is suggestive, dangerous and sexy and then
some! Again, Joshua is crooning and seductive as he is trying to get his woman.
The rhythm section is pulsating as our protagonist is getting closer and closer
to his target. It’s back to real delta blues from the heartland of the swamps
in Louisiana
in ‘Mornin’ Time’. Down and out and
caught in a rat race looking for an option to cope. Badass, indeed!
Oh yeah, gritty, dirty
and mean, ‘Don’t Give A Damn’ tells
the story of Jesco White, the dancing outlaw from West Virginia. Slow, meandering and ready to
strike, the song is just as crazy as the man himself. Starting off like a
bluesy, led-heavy version of Rush’s ‘Workin’
Man’, ‘Sidewalk Playa’ is a monster in disguise. Weaving in and out between
tempos, there’s a constant sinister vibe lurking in the background. The last proper
song on the album is ‘Ol’Red Top’. A
mixture of delta blues, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan emanates from the
speakers as A.P.F. are out for the kill. Around the 4-minute mark, everything
goes quiet. Don’t fret though, let the disc spin cause you’re in for a treat.
Why on Earth A.P.F. from
western Maryland
are still unsigned is beyond me. They had me hook, line and sinker when their
amazing debut, 'Devil's Son', was released at the tail end of 2012. And
now, their sophomore wax is out and it's even better than its predecessor.
Still, this trio has to do things DIY which is a damn shame cause the band's
mix of delta blues and rock is second to none! It needs to be out there so the
band can show the masses what great music really sounds like.
- Swedebeast
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