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Music Review - `Going Down to Meet The Devil ` by Barnyard Stompers (bm)
Category: Music Reviewer - BobbyM Hits: 1078
Barnyard Stompers - Goin Down To Meet The Devil (click on image to watch video)
21 July 2019
As two-piece band Barnyard Stompers, married couple Casey Miller (vocals, guitar) and Megan Wise (drums) wield a heavier-hitting sound than the typical four or five-member group. A sound as big as the duo’s home state of Texas makes for an amazing live show that incorporates honky-tonk, blues-rock, early Sun Records rockabilly and even hints of Rob Zombie-style sleaze. Under the watch of executive producer and country traditionalist Dallas Moore, Barnyard Stompers recorded Goin’ Down to Meet the Devil. The no-frills studio album fully captures the pair’s on-stage abilities.
Some standout tracks represent the band’s knack for writing countrified rock tunes. For examples, consult the hard-nosed Southern rock swagger of “Same Old Song & Dance” and a two-part trip to the crossroads “On My Way to Meet the Devil.” Both songs help define Barnyard Stompers as sounding heavier and bolder than even the best two-piece outfits with Country and Rock leanings.
As for the group’s country chops, Miller shows what he’s learned from his honky-tonk heroes and home state friends when he belts out the Red Simpson-style trucker song “500 Miles from Home” and the would-be Travis Tritt deep cut “Cold Lonesome Memories.” These and other country-sounding selections add to the ever-growing playlist of great songs from Texas acts knowledgeable of their roots and driven enough to add their own creative touch to the music of Bob Wills, George Jones, Waylon Jennings, Lee Ann Womack, and numerous other Lone Star State legends.
Overall, the album celebrates a formidable live act’s wide reach into various offshoots of rock, country, and the blues. It’s the type of album that allows old souls into AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Johnny Paycheck to find something new yet familiar. A younger crowd raised on punk or metal and slowly discovering country music’s rebellious bent will dig it, too.
