By Deuce

There’s some highly credible work to be found on Rise Again, the latest album from The Smokeboss Militia. In and of itself, that fact shouldn’t surprise anyone. The big Smokeboss, who goes by Andy Mensing when he’s not in the lab or on stage, has a cast of over 10 players making it happen on this 12-cut affair which seems to meld blues, Americana, and perhaps a tad bit of country western.

On more than one occasion, things coalesce with remarkable results. All anyone need do to understand how and why is simply run through “Trusted”. With its high-pitched organ and bluesy guitar dropping alongside the crisp mid-tempo pace set by the live drums, the tune comes in right and only gets better with time. The boss’s melody is pleasing, but the bass line is outright catchy and the centerpiece of an altogether live offering that could very well get listeners on the dance floor when the time is right.

“I’m Out” is similar in the fact that the bass line seems to take on a life of its own, guiding the track and the musicians into welcome territory. Plus, somebody’s got a bent for tickling the ivories like you wouldn’t believe, going from higher to lower notes in golden showers that gild this moving masterpiece.

Most of all, however, Smokie’s worked out a winning groove whereby he and his almost ever present shadow on the vocals, Lucia “Shash” Hare-Leahy, put in two bars on the melody before letting the groove take over for the subsequent two bars. With some timely chord shifts heating things up, this proves a fun way to move through the number while keeping audiences and the musicians equally entertained.

The coupling of the pair’s voices arguably reach their zenith on “Ain’t It Just Like You”, an upbeat number where the singing, melody, and interplay of the vocalists is like going out for a lark when no one’s looking. On this and a couple other tunes the instrumentation is livened up with what sounds like violins, helping to put a decidedly countrified spin on a record seemingly designed for that and similar genres.

With fiddles, mandolins, accordions, and more darting in and out of the different songs, the Smokeboss isn’t playing on this one—except for on his acoustic guitars and bass, that is.