Roots-influenced music was always a crowded field, with the genre never going out of favor. The problem for artists cropping up through the decades who wanted to play such music was always reaching close to the standards of the artists that set the bar so high on, like The Band.
Many failed to get even close to that level, but Vancouver’s The Gravel-Aires are among those that seem to be able to do it and with some flair at that.
Starting out as a stripped-down duo of Mark Branscombe and Michael Mahoney, the band developed into a full-fledged five-piece, recording three albums since 2020, Westerly being the latest in that series.
Throughout the album, it is evident that Branscombe and Mahoney have developed into serious songwriters who are covering a wide spectrum of roots/Americana sounds, here even touching on power pop.
At the same time, the band itself shows some excellent instrumental skills, something essential for covering the duo’s nuanced songwriting and dual lead vocals evident throughout the album.
It also seems that the songwriting duo has also upped the quality of their lyrics too, as they exhibit storytelling abilities often so essential for roots music, all this making Westerly an assured outing.
