L.A. Beat

Scant weeks after releasing his debut, more laid back, rootsier CD, Mississippi Live aka Connely Farr joined the Dirty Dirty in the studio (drummer Jay B Johnson, bassist Jon Wood and lead guitarist Ben Yardley) to record the follow up “ Way Down Here.”
It grabs the listener’s ear right from the getgo with it’s edgy, dirty, dirty  roots rock feel. It adds a little blues and a lot of rock which is immediately appealing.
 The title track is reminiscent of a couple of my favourite bands like Cross Canadian Ragweed and the Bottle Rockets, quite a bit of Wilco with a touch of Neil Young and Crazy Horse, a smattering of John Cougar Mellencamp and all good.
 Farr also has a haunting  whiskey  and cigarette soaked, folksy voice that sounds like it should be coming from the depths of the Mississippi Delta rather than the depths of Vancouver, which makes sense as he is originally from Bolton, Mississippi.
 His vocals are heartfelt, the music is scorching, and basically the CD goes by way too fast. You just want to get lost in the feel and the emotion and then replay it.
I like some of the more uptempo rockers like “Way Down Here,”, “The Devil Lives in thre TV,” and the slinky blues of  “Had to Leave Her,” the best of all.
I also like the country tinged “Over You” because of the catchy twangy guitar riff.
 The one minute long “Banjo Song” is a haunting, almost gospel tinged, which is more reminiscent of his previous CD.
 He slows down the pace a little at the end of the CD, with the mournful “Cold.”
 But ends it on a tortured, almost grunge roots feel with “Wooden Nickels.”
CD: Way Down Here
Band : Mississippi Live and the Dirty Dirty
Genre: alt-country
Record label: indie