John Meeks - Old Blood

John Meeks' Old Blood is a powerful debut album, reminiscent of Calexico, Neko Case, and a bit of Whiskeytown. His dusty, melancholy, South-western desert ballad, "Been Down By Love" has fiddles, steel guitar, and trumpets adding flourishes over a steady country beat and hauntingly beautiful vocal harmonies.

From the "Making of Old Blood" on his website, I gather his band is a bit of a "San Diego country super-group." It doesn't come out and say it, but it feels like there was a bit of a repressed Alt Country scene in San Diego, and John's arrival has galvanized several like-minded and extremely talented artists to gather and create a new San Diego country sound. This is a great album, and it's an interesting video. (Something of a rarity on the Internet if you ask me.)

Highly recommended! One of the most innovative and listenable Alt Country albums I've heard in a long while. I want to hear more from John and his San Diego country artist friends!

Listen to "Been Down By Love"
Buy on Amazon MP3