The Legend of Big Sid

Tearing big holes in the speakers, Flatfoot rockets through 11 country-fried tracks of heartbreak, ghost stories, and first loves. With their debut release, Down in the Cellar, the band proved that they could write a great gritty hook, but their decidedly lo-fi approach didn't fully get the message across. On The Legend of Big Sid, that problem has been corrected and the resulting album is a terrific collection of down and dirty country songs as performed by the Sticky Fingers-era Rolling Stones. The title track recounts a local legend of a man burned in a sawdust blaze who is driven mad by the tamperings of modern medicine and breaks free to haunt a nearby summer camp forever. While this kind of campfire storytelling could sound goofy or unintentionally dramatic, Flatfoot gives it the appropriate amount of stomp and thunder, turning it into a grisly Michigan tall tale along the lines of Paul Bunyan and his big blue ox. The cautionary tale "Sleep All Day" pleads with the listener to get out of bed and make something of their life; "Punched Out Eye" relives fevered memories of a fumbling first love, and the barrel-riding "Love You So Much" rockets down the mountain like Gram Parsons all hopped up on bennies trying to steer an 18 wheeler with the brake lines cut. Overall, the album pulls the air out of your lungs with its intensity, mixing up Buffalo Springfield, Faces, Flying Burrito Brothers, Willie Dixon, Terry Melcher, and a case of Strohs. With this release Flatfoot takes their already good thing and makes it better, providing the perfect soundtrack for summertime drives and closing times.