Somewhere under the rubble of the scene in the Triangle lies that relegated rock from the Triad — a mish-mash of hillbilly soul-country and rock-and-roll with no misconceptions about what it wants to be. For decades, some of the best music in North Carolina has come from the less media-saturated portions of the state.
Amongst those areas, Greensboro has consistently produced some of the lesser appreciated acts in recent history—Caleb Caudle, Old Heavy Hands, et al. They are the light that shines over Greensboro’s hypeless cityscape.
If there’s anything GSO wants to make clear, though, it’s that they don’t need light to survive. These hardscrabble jams soak the listener in the overtness of being overlooked — man, if no one is listening, they sure as shit should be. The licks lay bare over specific triumphs and sometimes those triumphs sound sadder than the failures that influenced them.
These are love songs, but only if you are listening.
You may believe you’ve heard this before. You may think the depth of GSO lies in the kitsch, but that just means you ain’t really been there. The congregation may not scream TESTIFY like they used to, but the preachers still preach. Have you heard? If not, you need to. These whiskey-soaked, heavily medicated jams grew through darkness, so the light you bring is your own.
Until you bring it, GSO’s just going to keep rocking. Your move, slick.
credits
released July 1, 2016
Lee Wallace
Gabe Fonorow
Eric Ussery
Mike Duehring
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