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Review: Texas Headhunters \u2018Rise and Shine\u2019<\/p>\n
By Hal Horowitz<\/p>\n
That was fast.<\/p>\n
No sooner did the quickly recorded (in five days) debut album (2025) from the trio of guitarists that comprise the Texas Headhunters (Ian Moore, Johnny Moeller and Jesse Dayton) gain traction in the roots genre, than they return a year later. The second release is every bit as tough, biting and rugged as the first. At this rate, their third should be just around the corner.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s no surprise that \u2018Rise and Shine\u2019 (released Oct. 9 on Blue \u00c9lan) arrived so quickly. After all, these veteran six-string slingers, each with three decades of experience, realize they have tapped into a good thing. They want to maintain that momentum created through not just that first set, but the extensive tour supporting it.<\/p>\n
The concept initially seemed suspicious. Does any band short of Lynyrd Skynyd really need that many guitarists? But these three amigos also write crafty originals, sing, and share a relationship built on touring and playing with others for much of their extensive careers. No one hogs the spotlight and, being from Texas, have a common denominator in sharing a love of Freddie King (they enter shows to his version of \u201cPalace of the King\u201d) and \u201cpraying to the altar\u201d of Billy Gibbons.<\/p>\n
While the collective doesn\u2019t sound like either icon, this is elevated over random blues rocking sharp-shooters doing their best Stevie Ray Vaughan licks. Jesse Dayton\u2019s opening \u201cCut N Run\u201d captures the dusky, rootsy funky vibe at the heart of the threesome\u2019s groove. All take short solos with Dayton huffing \u201cYou can\u2019t shed more tears when you\u2019re all cried out\u201d as he bemoans the end of a relationship. It\u2019s a perfect start as Dayton howls, the guitars share the spotlight and the arrangement leaves room for it all to gel in just over 3 1\/2 minutes.<\/p>\n
Jon Moeller\u2019s title track brings Southern rock grease to a Texas shuffle. The participants trade vocals on the three verses encouraging listeners to \u201cRise and Shine\u201d with \u201cOne day we\u2019re here and the next we\u2019re gone.\u201d It\u2019s perfect for audience sing-alongs.<\/p>\n
Ian Moore juices up a Bo Diddley beat for his thumping \u201cBigshot.\u201d Dayton sits this one out, only contributing backing vocals. Moore and Moeller handle solos as the former sings about being the seventh son of the seventh son, a classic blues platitude.<\/p>\n
Moore returns to pen a searing Southern soul ballad in the Otis Redding mode with \u201cThat\u2019s the Kind of Fool I\u2019ll Be.\u201d It displays his smoother, emotional singing, even if the song\u2019s structure follows an established template. Each guy gets time to whip up a tight, stinging solo adding to one of the set\u2019s most incisive vocals.<\/p>\n
Dayton regrets his mistakes (\u201cDon\u2019t speed past the police, don\u2019t fish in another man\u2019s spot\u201d) in the swamp-infested \u201cI Did It Anyway.\u201d The tempo changes mid-tune as he strangles his instrument and sings with a bellowing baritone. Moeller, also credited as drummer (he overdubs percussion) is credited with \u201cFunky So-N-So,\u201d the disc\u2019s lone instrumental. The holy guitar trinity split guitar chores on the surfy garage rocker which clocks in at under 2 \u00bd minutes.<\/p>\n
That brevity is one of the disc\u2019s most striking attributes. Three guitarists all looking to outdo each other could easily have taken the Satriani\/Vai\/Johnson G3 route where each participant gets plenty of time to display their speedy picking, often to the detriment of whatever tune their playing.<\/p>\n