Reckoners Blend Barroom Rock, Soul, and Musical Muscle on ‘Where the Hell Am I’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

Perhaps all-star Boston-based band Reckoners can cheer up these frustrated Beantown sports fans with their sophomore release, Where the Hell Am I? The collaborative made a splash with their 2024 eponymous debut that featured Susan Tedeschi on vocals on some tracks. Tedeschi is not aboard this time, but Alan Evans of Soulive returns to co-produce, and the quasi supergroup lineup remains intact.

Upon first listen (not having heard the debut), the timeless rock and soul harked back to that glorious period of rock n’ roll when Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Springsteen, Mellencamp, and blues rockers like the J. Geils Band ruled the radio. We could literally set the Reckoners sound back to that period. Yet, their effect is refreshing rather than dated.  The group has fearless vocalist Tim Gearan as its frontman with powerful guitarist Johnny Trama (Bettye LaVette, The Silks, Dub Apocalypse, The B3 Kings) as bandleader. Tom Arey, whose lineage boasts Peter Wolf, J. Geils Band, and G. Love, is the beat master. The other two members, bassist Marc Hickox and keyboardist Darby Wolf, have worked primarily with Bettye LaVette. They comprise the classic five-piece rock ’ n ’ roll configuration. They have some notable guests as well: guitarist Kevin Barry, who appears on many rock, folk, and blues records recorded in New England, background vocalists Lamar Williams Jr. (Allman Brothers) and Nigel Hall (Lettuce).

A blast of surging guitar and swirling organ introduces us to “Second Skin,” with its Stones-like riffs. Trana rips off an ear-splitting solo. Clearly, the band takes no prisoners.  The gritty, growling  “Look Out Below,” one of four singles, follows. Trama shared the inspiration for the tune this way, “…is a lineup of the unusual suspects that might frequent the barrooms that we call second homes. We changed the names to protect the not-so-innocent.”  The chorus, infused by the background vocalists – “We saw the fire after the fall, we saw it all” becomes infectious in “We Saw It All.”  The crunchy title track revolves around another thick Stones-like riff, imbued by Wolf’s wide-ranging organ, Gearan’s raucous vocal, and Trama’s spiraling guitar lines.

The band turns more toward the soulful side of their artistry, tamping it down for “Silver Stallion,” a cover of Lee Clayton’s 1978 song. They stay relatively faithful to the original but insert their trademark grittiness to lift it out of any retro-sounding feel. “Running Wild” reverberates mightily, living up to its title. “Don’t Look Down” is another chorus-driven track, imbued at times by Wolf’s barrelhouse piano and carried by Arey’s insistent beats along with Trana’s ever-raging guitar. The soulful attack, almost Southern rock-like, returns in the organ-driven “It Will Be Mine.”  Rather surprisingly, the band takes to hints of country trappings in “Consuelo.” The closer “Not to Worry,” the shortest track, breathes with crisp rock n’ roll and an uplifting message buoyed by Trana’s bluesy guitar and three voices singing the repetitive chorus.

So, let The Reckoners lift the Bostonians from their gloom and spread the power of rock n’ roll to the masses.