Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, a hub of historical soul and blues that crafted much of the world’s modern music, Dirty Streets have spent years on the road and in the studio forging their own style. They’ve moved from DIY, independent recordings to ambitiously self-produced studio ventures over the course of five albums. Their fifth, and latest, LP, Distractions, is an explosively charged follow-up to their acclaimed 2015 release White Horse, which contains a unique style of heavy, soulful and sometimes psychedelic rock. Recorded at the historic Sam Phillips Recording studio in Memphis, the album pushes the sonic palette of the band to the next level with an eclectic mix of songs. Drawing from influences that span from the bluesy twang of Howlin’ Wolf and Wilson Pickett, to the heady expansiveness of Hendrix and Donovan, Distractions lives in its own time and place. The album was recorded live in the studio by Matt Qualls and Wesley Graham in the room where the raw and explosive energy of the Yardbirds’ iconic “Train Kept a Rollin’” was originally put to tape. This album continues the tradition.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the band’s video for “The Sound”, one of the standout tracks on Distractions. The video captures the band’s ability to bottle their high-intensity sound in the studio as they rock the fuck out with a charged up sound that feels of another era. As a three-piece, these cats make some serious noise, and they do so with with cool-headed precision and plenty of Southern swagger. In another time Dirty Streets would have filled arenas with their cranked up, no-holds-barred rock and roll sound. Without naming names, there are other acts out there these days that get credit for channeling the same intensity and magic of 70s mega-rock outfits like Led Zeppelin, but “The Sound” is one of many examples that proves Dirty Streets can pay proper homage to their influences without sounding like rip-offs. Crack open a cold one and crank up the volume real loud.
Dirty Streets frontman Justin Toland attributes the vibe of the recording to the room, which has an incredible history:
“We recorded all of the live album tracks at Sam Phillips Recording in Memphis. The room feels like no other. The vibe of the whole spot had a profound influence on the whole album, so we wanted to go back and record the video there to try to capture that.”
WATCH:
Dirty Streets’ Distractions is out now on vinyl, CD, digital and streaming formats. Click here to order: https://dirtystreets.bandcamp.com/
Photo credit: Bob Bayne
