Willis Earl Beal is a singer songwriter that really is like no one else, bursting out with his bleak lofi gospel tape jamming, heart pounding intensity. This guy can spark fires with raw voice that draws comparisons to the likes of Tom Waits and to a certain degree Robert Johnston.
Too Dry to Cry See’s no real change in direction from Willis Earl Beal as proceeds to tread on a path that so many would be terrified to to go anywhere near. It very much feels like as if he has found the lost soul that Robert Johnston so famously sold to the Devil. Right from the off we have the loose electric chords that build a melody and a stomping boom and clack of chain chomping rhythms. With Willis’s voice creaming over the top like a steamy Tom Waits stuck onto ultra pessimistic tone.
The thing I love about Willis Earl is that he will go where many of today’s so called soul singers dare not reach, that being the human soul. The production is lofi and grimy and not at all like an urban sound. Willis’s voice is absolutely bone rattling, especially when it comes to the live performance. He live shows are like being inducted to the Church of Willis Earl Beal or the Church Of Nobody, a phenomenally intense experience.
Too Dry to Cry is taken from Willis Earl Beals up coming album Nobody Knows, with live shows in early October. This will be something not to be missed!
thethouroughlyannoyingblonde 