Over the past 20 years or so the music industry has been so over saturated with music that it’s damn near impossible to hear it all. Labels put so much energy and time in to cookie cutter bands that will move records and a trendy image that truly substantial bands get left behind to fall between the cracks. I’ve been lucky enough to catch a lot of these bands as they fell through and was awarded with some of the best music that nobody would hear. That is exactly what happened with American Minor.
American Minor is a roots based rock band from Huntington, WV that I literally stumbled upon on a random music blog. They had a video for the song Buffalo Creek and the sound of this young band just totally blew me away. Imagine Steven Tyler fronting a band that was a hybrid of southern rock and early Black Sabbath. The songs are muddy and dark yet extremely well produced and performed. Lead singer Rober McCutcheon sings with all the heart and soul of Chris Robinson with a murky rasp that sounds like one too many late nights of whiskey and smoke. Trust me, this is a GOOD thing.
The songs are melodic, dark and extremely catchy. Songs like “Walk On” and “Break” have a catchy classic rock radio feel while “Cheaters and Non Believers”, “Mr. Queen” are dark southern rock without a doubt. “Shine” sounds more like it could’ve been a lost Neil Young & Crazy Horse song and my personal favorite on this album is “One Last Supper” which I feel lyrically and musically it is their strongest with some fantastic guitar work.
American Minor may have only released one album but they truly made the most of that one album. There isn’t a bad song on this album and it’s really a shame that they weren’t given the opportunity to truly show what they could do. I can only imagine what kind of amazing music these guys would’ve made if given the chance. Lucky for the music world American Minor left behind an album that is better than most bands have made in 20+ years. This band was wise and talented beyond their years and why the world wasn’t ready for them I will never understand. All I can do is listen and love this album and hope that others will pick up on it and love it as much as I do.
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