California-based Dustbowl Revival have always been a little hard to pin down musically. There is definitely an Americana vibe to their music, but there are also hefty elements of jazz, swing and pop. Their latest, Is It You, Is It Me does little to dispel that confusion. Across a baker’s dozen of new songs, the band relies just as heavily on their horn section as they do their acoustic guitars for a satisfyingly eclectic mashup of genres.
This new effort builds on the solid foundation of 2017’s self-titled LP, branching out even more so sonically – an impressive feat when you consider how diverse that first album was musically. Though not as energetic as their last album, the band still vacillates from slow build songs like “Sonic Boom” and a smoothed down, mellow jam like “Mirror,” to a joyfully up tempo Dixieland vibe on the song “Nobody Knows (Is It You)”.
The band also opens up to more pop elements with this outing, not shying away from a strong hook and memorable chorus. At 13 tracks, the album stretches on for a song or two too long, but there is more than enough great music here to forgive a little excess.
Dustbowl Revival – Is It You, Is It Me/13 tracks/Thirty Tigers/2020