There’s so much to be said about the Red Clay Strays and their new album Made by These Moments, and so little to do them justice, but we’ll try our best. The sheer musicality of this group is amazing, and every song on this album has become an immediate classic, in part thanks to the clear influence the Red Clay Strays take from some great classic Southern rock bands like ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd. However, the Strays have their own unique blend of some tasty guitar playing, a powerful vocalist, punctuating bass, and in-the-pocket drumming that create something more bluesy and folk than even some of the famous classic rock giants. It’s no surprise that most of the shows for the Strays’s current tour are sold out.
The initial draw of this band is Brandon Coleman’s gritty, growling vocals. Just in the first song, Coleman demonstrates his ability to go between beautiful and clean to soulful and rough-and-tumble singing. He’s got a twang in his voice that captures that Southern, folky feel without sounding like your typical modern country singer. Coleman also does a masterful job of managing that twang, turning it up and down at will to build even more excitement in the album. Also, on the song I’m Still Fine, Coleman shows off how well he can sing in a mellow kind of blues, and the tremble and feeling in his voice leave nothing to ask for.
After that, it’s impossible not to notice how hard the band is grooving. In their song Wasting Time, the band shows off just how locked together they are with some impressive stop-and-go grooves that they nail consistently. Not only that, but the mixing between all the instruments is pleasing throughout the album. There’s never a point where an instrument feels like it’s out of place or taking over, the Red Clay Strays always feel like a unit of a band, like one moving piece of music. Andrew Bishop on bass and John Hall on drums make some great, classic blues beats and grooves that you can’t help wanting to move to. If you need proof, look no further than the feel switch at the end of On My Knees and how tight the whole band stays in that moment of change.
It would be silly not to mention some of the great guitar solos spread throughout Made by These Moments, so if you’re looking for some of the best of the best, check out Disaster and Wanna Be Loved. Drew Nix and Zach Rishel practically make their guitars talk with their solos. It’s the kind of skill and feel for the music that makes your face scrunch up in appreciation.
One last thing to really appreciate about this album is the variety. Every song works with the blues and rock, but that doesn’t mean that every song sounds the same. The first couple songs on the album are fast, rocking tunes that really open Made by These Moments with a bang, but then the band goes back and forth between that style of song and slower, more emotional songs with really beautiful messages that connect the listener with the musicians in a very special way. No matter what style they’re playing, though, the Strays stay rooted in their, well, roots and play with a feeling that’s rare in today’s music scene.
Overall, the Red Clay Strays deserve all the praise they receive and more. The songs off of their new album are the kinds of songs you add to every playlist you have, and that you sit and listen to three or four times in a row just to really appreciate them. With the help of Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb, the Strays have made another great series of works in a steadily growing list of hits. Unique style that combines some unparalleled singing and playing, plus inspiration from some of the greatest to ever do it might someday cement the Red Clay Strays in that same category as the musicians they learned from.
Reviewed by Evan Cooper
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