Band of Heathens: Top Hat Crown & The Clapmasterâ??s Son

We all need a little saving sometimes, and that’s just what Bank of Heathens aims to do, especially when singing about whiskey bottles, the Devil’s daughter, and high black water. Imagine rustic roots rock with hand claps and a Fender Rhodes piano; throw in a little Creedence Clearwater Revival and a soulful Otis Redding, and you’ve got Top Hat Crown. These are the kinds of swamp rock anthems that Americana is built upon — never expect less than the seedy side of nitty-gritty soul from songwriters Colin Brooks, Gordy Quist, and Ed Jurdi. “Medicine Man,” “I Ain’t Running,” and “Free Again” may tell their tale, but even they know that the drowning blues backed by maudlin mandolin sometimes calls for a collective, joyful noise. This album is proof that a lifetime of regret can be cleared up over the course of a single listening, but a glass of porch-made moonshine and 12-bar blues riffs help, too.