The Johnstown Flood, Cardiff
For fans of The Black Keys, The Luckies, The Clash

The Johnstown Flood are the band you didn’t know you needed. A Garage/Grunge/Rock/Rockabilly/Blues 3-piece hybrid, fuzzy, noisy, hurtling towards a storm, and yet still managing not to rip your head clean off. TJF are like ‘Nearly-Headless-Nick’ drinking a bottle of thunder, and that is something I know each and every one of us is desperate to know more about. Their sound is cultured and tactile, as well as being DIY with energy spilling over the brim. Imagining what these guys would sound like with a big budget and an even bigger studio behind their tracks is mind-boggling based on what they have already put out in the form of a couple of demos. Exploring their SoundCloud led me first to 2015’s “Cruisin’” and then this year’s “Coming Up”.

“Cruisin’” just makes you want to bounce. It’s got that pummelling ¼ n ote Blues groove, the one that you imagine when you’re ‘cruising’ across Mid-Western America in a convertible Chevy, drinking beer with your mates as the movie you’re imagining in your head ends. It’s a soundtrack to a music form that, often, I’ve found is overlooked in the indie scene. The Johnstown Flood cannot be a band that is overlooked, they’re simply too good. They remind me of Budapest’s Blues-Rockers The Luckies, who I had the pleasure to tour with in June. They are by the far the best band I have ever played alongside, and TJF are giving them a run for their money with their recorded material. With a bone-crushing heartbeat of a riff throughout, and sultry, sexy vocals weaving their way between groovy drums, “Cruisin’” is a song that any quality Blues band needs in their repertoire, but these guys got there first. And, d’ya know what, it’s not even my favourite song!!!

That honour falls to “Coming Up”; 2 mins 13 seconds, at 200mph, with one of the catchiest choruses I’ve heard in a long, long time. There’s a Black Keys swagger mixed with bucket loads of energy, but an intelligence in the song-writing that emphasises the importance of all 3 members. An opening bass riff that immediately excites you about what’s to come, the punchy opening vocals standing on their own, commanding the song, and relentless drums that manage to hold everything together whilst simultaneously making you ask ‘where is this going next?’. And, then, just like that, after you’ve found yourself belting out the chorus backing vocals like there’s no tomorrow, it’s over. This song is short, but not too short — just short enough for you to demand more. I’m just praying that they release something new as soon as possible, because that’s an unfair cliff-hanger to leave me on!
Coming Up: 9/10
Cruisin’: 8.5/10
The Johnstown Flood: 9/10
