Sometimes a record’s title tells you almost everything you need to know. Bourbon & Flowers, the new EP from Milwaukee’s Rectifier, mixes boozy Southern rock with dusty Americana to create contemporary music that evokes a bygone era. The rollicking quintet invites comparisons to Drive-By Truckers, thanks to the vocal interplay between Brendan Shea and Katie Mack, who together make Rectifier sound twice as good. Shea’s Patterson Hood-meets-Bruce Springsteen delivery infuses the rowdy rocker “The Road” with unabashed abandon, and Mack’s sexiness on “Cowboy, Tallboy and an Angel” belies her take-no-crap approach on “The Rut.” The band also reveals its softer side on “Gone Baby Gone,” a haunting mountain ballad.
Props to the smart rhythm section of drummer Sean Feather and bassist Scott Oakes, which knows when to cut loose and how to hold back, and guitarist Brandon Tushkowski’s solos that prove rock ’n’ roll is still all about having fun.
Rectifier performs at The Pabst Theater, July 13, for their EP release party.
