Firewater - The Golden Hour (Bloodshot)

Firewater’s Tod A really hates George W. Bush. So much so that Dubya’s re-election in 2004 drove the singer/songwriter into a three year period of self-imposed exile; during which he travelled, performed and recorded in a number of countries, including India, Pakistan, Turkey and Israel. The Golden Hour is the product of the peripatetic artist’s wanderings. Firewater’s blunt – at times a little leaden – lyrics sit on top of a solid rhythmic foundation provided by local musicians, with dhol, ghatam and djembe featured, depending on the setting. The Tel Aviv sessions include guitarist Uri Kinrot who sounds a lot like Marc Ribot, giving those tracks an eerily Tom Waits, Rain Dogs era atmosphere. The combination of global rhythms, political lyrics and Mr. A’s growling, almost sneering, vocals suggests that we might just have found an artist who can pick up where the sadly departed Joe Strummer left off with the Mescaleros.