Heavy from the Sky – The Jared Stout Band (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

All musicians are shaped by the place they call home, so you would expect a band from the heart of Virginia to have the sound of Appalachian roots music traditions running through their veins. And so it is with The Jared Stout Band, which means that when they blend their chosen sounds – blues, soul, and rock – together, that unplanned though not unexpected ingredient, the soundtrack of the place that raised them, will be found pulsing through the music. The result is a unique, signature alt-country sound with mass appeal and one that speaks volumes about where they are from.

Heavy from the Sky offers nine sonic slices that see the band mix, match, meld, and merge all these sounds in various volumes. There’s the fired-up country rock of Home Sweet Home, all groove and drive, spiraling riffs, wailing harmonica; there’s soulful sass courtesy of Luck; the balladic drifts of Cost; and the heavy, funky blues-rock of One Shot.

But what stands out about the songs found here is just how much of a commanding presence they have, how robust and well-wrought, and how honest, authentic, and from the heart these songs are. And that is something rare in the music business these days.