Kristian Montgomery just dropped this new album Soul Kitchen. It is another step in the artistic growth of Montgomery. The songs are catchier than ever, more hooky. Yet, Montgomery and his band still smack out their roots music with muscular force. Montgomery changed genres from driving, stomping country to his earlier rock roots because a life threatening fire that engulfed his Vermont farmhouse forced him to change everything in his world.
Opening song “Kristian Montgomery and the Winterkill Band – This Is How We Roll Now” feels thinner, sharper than when they had a heftier country rock stomp. It is still uptempo, rocking, and Montgomery still wails at the microphone, a large husky voice that hits home with his depth of emotive eruption.
“Brotherhood Of Ghosts” finds Montgomery using his gruff rasp to fill this one with plenty of soul. His voice lives amid a bunch of crunchy chord progressions and some feisty lead guitar from John Clark. Everything in this song breathes with tremendous cool. The rhythm guitar punches out something lean and mean in alluring steps. Montgomery’s vocal sustains inject more power, like a Stax singer letting loose with something mighty serious.
“The Last Time I Loved You” moves forward with percussive taps while sweet, tender dollops of electric guitar play beside a heartfelt vocal. The combined effect makes this one sound surefooted even though it is midtempo and doesn’t feature the pounding power of the first two tracks. Here, things build up at their own special pace, becoming a wider delivery of voice and instrumentation that gives it a lot of power.
“Home” required Montgomery to sing through a filtering device that makes his voice sound haunted, forlorn. The effect works well in this driving rock, frightfully paced bit of raucous instrumentation. Drums and bass provide a thick, pushy groove while providing a platform for Montgomery’s hefty vocal expressions and the whirlwind lead guitar phrase being pressed out like nobody’s business.
A haunting relationship song “You Listen To My Body” rocks right out. Montgomery’s huge masculine croon travels well over bracing lead guitar and his fiery rhythm section. His rhythm boys drummer/producer Andrew Koss and bas guitar player Christian Shenk build a bonfire of rock and roll beneath the upper registers
“As Fast As You Can” begins more smoothly than the rough and tumble rock songs on this album. Yet, Montgomery and his crew build it up into something with drive and muscle. The strident portions of this song feel more like a wild jam song than a perfectly structured song, giving it a free fall of energy that ignites the song even further. The chorus grips with intensity and pulsating instrumentation.
A percussive motion makes “Don’t Be Afraid To Be Born” an ear grabber. Its pace keeps it potent even before Montgomery’s hefty lead vocal and his support players add their extra kick. The chorus feels like a personal anthem, fitting in with the wide, muscular approach to music making that Montgomery prefers.
“Just My Saturday Night” offers soulful vocals, a jumpy groove, and a swaggering attitude. After that catchy groove draws you in, you’ll be digging a fierce lead guitar. Its moves make you want to move with it as the guitar flicks with tense notes in support of Montgomery’s rowdy singing voice. This singer performs every verse with a muscular authority and his band plays with an undeniable stomp.
“I Can Live Without Your Memory” moves slowly but deeply, making us feel it with Montgomery’s world weary vocal and the tumbleweed motions of rhythm guitar. The listener feels what the weight of that memory brings and Montgomery knows how to flesh out the emotions of a song. The anxiousness to move on is felt in every instrument.
“Find Your Truth” continues the more down tempo vibe of this portion of the album. Montgomery’s low key vocal lets him show a depth of feeling that he can’t always show with his belt. Here, he blends his smoother delivery with a tender accompaniment. The instrumentation here has an airy quality that makes one feel he’s entered the world this song lives in, and it’s a good place to be.
“Steady As She Goes” gives off a hip vibe with its flinty guitar and the rippling bass beneath it. It develops into a more sweeping rush before resettling into its twitching groove. Montgomery gives off just enough voice per measure to keep things engaging, an amazing use of voice that shows knowledge and technique. A sprawling organ expands the vibe and makes one feel like entering the room where the party is going on.
“A Lot More” features lead and rhythm guitars spinning around each other with a tight interaction, fast chords and a sharp interval of notes. This creates the groove which the rhythm section fills out tightly anchored to the guitars. This edgy wedge of instrumentation gives Montgomery space to inject his husky vocal with speed and heft. He makes this one burn by keeping out of the way of the instrumentation while giving off his own spark in any available space he can find.
Close out track “Jeg Elsker Dig,” a belty vocal over a sprawling soundscape of arcing lead guitar and traveling keyboard effects, makes for a bittersweet goodbye. Everything is so well considered and well placed in this song, all of its moving parts creating another fine sensation for the listener.
Montgomery and his Winterkill band again rose to a higher level. This time around an album, recorded at Strawberry Fields in Manchester, Vermont, is a celebration of life expressed with more rock and roll idioms than Montgomery has used in a long while. Soul Family just might give Montgomery a few nominations during the upcoming awards season.
