Ancestor

Chronique

Having already established himself as a modern-day bluesman, T.K. Webb formed the Visions in 2007 to explore material that was louder, fuzzier, and more muscular than his solo material. The Visions prove to be a competent hard rock band on Ancestor, filling the album's 11 tracks with bluesy riffage that owes as much to Joe Perry as J. Mascis. "Dreen Done Death" alternates between spotless guitar flourishes and thudding power chords, while "Isle of Grizzly White" is a quick 90-second nugget of psychedelic space-metal. The bulk of Ancestor, however, falls slightly short of drumming up the same appeal as Webb's previous albums. With their ramshackle textures and emphasis on the acoustic guitar, KCK and Phantom Parade channeled the Delta blues with spooky conviction, allowing T.K. Webb to emerge as one as one of the few authentic-sounding bluesmen of the 21st century. But Ancestor explores a genre that's considerably more congested than Webb's Mississippi meanderings -- specifically, blues-based hard rock with an emphasis on the '70s -- and the musicians neither inject these songs with new life nor tackle their familiarities with the same energy as the genre's pioneers. Ancestor does flaunt some powerful moments, from the aforementioned highlights to the instances where Brian Hale and T.K. Webb trade off guitar solos like a skuzzier version of the Drive-By Truckers. Viewed as a debut album, this is a promising effort from a highly credentialed band. Compared to Webb's past albums, however, Ancestor doesn't quite produce the same engaging nostalgia as his solo outings.

© Andrew Leahey /TiVo