Efren’s bold blend of Americana, rock and folk with psych overtones has long been a favourite on MM since we discovered their Always A Bleeder EP back in 2010. Since then we have had the great pleasure of acquainting ourselves with their debut album Rise On Up And Melt which saw a release last summer and now they are back with a new album Write A New Song.

The title appears prophetic because this time Efren have thrown off the shackles and stomped out the campfire with nary a backwards glance. In fact they’ve gone full out and thrown some chairs through windows and smashed their hobnailed boots through the floor to deliver up an album of whiskey soaked, bluesy bar-room anthems. Following a sudden marital split the songs are infused with fury, bitterness and regret, as the song titles testify; Find A New Man, The Last 40 Days, Family Tree Of Recovery, If My Heart Don’t Fail Me and The Dirty Bourbon Blues.

This is raw stuff. Unapologetic and probably cathartic, the result is straight-from-the-hip, rougher ‘n hell, Southern Rock in the style of The Drive-By Truckers or Dead Confederate, and could even be seen as the other side of the coin to Deer Tick’s most recent release of swaggering, good-times rock’n’roll. Guitars throw out crunchy muscular riffs, drums pound and Scott Low’s gruff vocals spit and snarl over the top of it all – extinguishing any vestiges of reconciliation and redemption in a maelstrom of sonic destruction.

Marvellous. Write A New Song is released on June 19 via Slo Pro.

Download Efren – The Woods And The Wild mp3 (from Write A New Song)

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