In the historical sense, JOHN THE CONQUEROR was an African American folk hero, the story based on an African prince sold into slavery in America, whose spirit was never broken. It also gives the name to the John the Conqueror root, a type of bindweed, which is supposed to have a potent magic.
Here we have a power trio, that are full of spirit and have more than enough potent magic themselves. The band comprises cousins Pierre Moore on vocals and guitar, Michael Gardner on drums, (both originally from Jackson, Mississippi), and Ryan Lynn (from Philly) on bass. The band is currently based in Philadelphia, and in a short space of time has garnered rave reviews.
This, their self-titled debut album is certainly worthy of such praise. Opening with 'I Just Wanna', which starts off with the mantra “I just want to be your man/I wanna, wanna be your man” sung over a handclap beat, this almost sounds like it's veering into gospel blues territory, before Michael Gardner starts pounding the drums, Ryan Lynn's bass anters the fray, and the song explodes in a manner that stuns the listener. If there were any realistic comparisons, it would probably be with The Black Keys, and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, however John the Conqueror have a ferocity absent from The Black Keys last album, and are more upbeat than JSBX. As the song winds down, it returns to the handclap intro, and is a top song.
Following closely from this is 'Southern Boy', a really heavy southern blues boogie, that just throbs along with some excellent guitar, and a nice line in the lyrics: - “Lemme tell you just a bit 'bout me, what you get girl is what you see/I'm a man don't you know.”
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It's not all blues thrash, though. 'Time To Go' starts slowly, with a slow chiming guitar and doo wop style harmonies, as Pierre tells us all about his gal: - “My little girl, she's oh, so lovely/ She comes at eleven, and she leaves, she leaves me at three/ She's everything I'll ever need... How do I turn this girl away?”, before becoming far rockier with some great falsetto backing vocals as Pierre decides “I say it's time to go”, which calls time on the proceedings.
'Come Home With Me' is a track that smoulders with some bad intent as Pierre seems to be chatting someone up in a downtown bar at closing time: - “Maybe that whiskey talkin', maybe the wine.... If only you would come home with me.”
This is a really great first album from a band so tight you probably couldnt get a piece of paper between them. The playing is always spot on, the only criticism I could possibly level at this album is the lack of a lyric sheet, but that is a really minor detail. If their debut is this good, then I'm sure there will be far greater things to come. This is a must have purchase!
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