Immortal Lee County Killers

This guitar and drum duo from Lee County, Alabama, is to the blues and Muddy Waters as the Damned were to rock'n'roll and Chuck Berry. In other words, this is pure punk blues and it makes Jon Spencer sound like B.B. King. They claim Hound Dog Taylor, the MC5 and Sun Ra (another Alabamian) as influences, and once you hear them, there's no trouble believing that. Loud, raw and chaotic, the title is no lie. The vocals are more of a yelp and howl than a true blues growl, and the overall ambience is uncouth; the whole thing sounds like it was recorded on a cheap blaster. "Train She Rides" is basically a stripped down rewrite of "Mystery Train," though they claim authorship. The biggest mistake they make is covering Muddy Waters' "Rollin' Stone." It throws their own writing into sharp relief and as much as they bash and crash and thrash, they can't write a song one-tenth as good. Definitely some fucked up blues, but as to essential, that's up to you.