Thunder begins Kick Up Your Heels and not just any sonic shock wave, but “Levon’s New Drum Set.” Behind Cindy Cashdollar’s slide guitar and Shelley King’s all-star band’s strummy, roadhouse noir, the veteran Austin singer-songwriter’s ninth album rumbles alive as thick and real as the Band drummer’s heavenly bass drum beating lightning into plowshares overhead. “Stormin’ in the South” and “Hurricane Party” follow, the latter Marcia Ball co-write bayou-rocking both the guest pianist and roots fox Delbert McClinton. Punctuate all four with an actual Helm cover, “Blues So Bad,” a John Fogerty track if ever a modern one existed. King’s Earth mama vocal omnipresence, dry and swaggery rather than over-emotive, trips the neon lights fantastic. NOLA party cruise the Subdudes skitter across the title track after the multiple elbow bends of “One Shot at a Time.” The rest is a blur after that, but a damn good time visited one and all.
This article appears in December 13 • 2019.
