Canadian classic roots ‘and ‘n’ blues rock band THE COMMONERS will release their album Find A Better Way this November 4th 2022 via Gypsy Soul Records.
The Commoners are a four-piece group from Ontario, with a sound that seems to have been extracted from the tattered insides of a barrel of illegal rye.
The Toronto-based band is recognised for their intense guitar play, soulful vocals, and complex harmonies. They provide a unique combination of roots music, southern blues, and rock & roll. The product is a true Southern rock experience that feels genuinely diesel-soaked.
working man articulative: valiant, dynamic, and honest…
Raw ramp Music Mag
The nine tracks on Find A Better Way, which have been dubbed “a classic rock and roll affair,” take the listener on a musical journey through the band’s lives, from the barren countryside of Ontario to the glittering city of Toronto.
‘Too Much’ (previously released as a single) has exactly the right amount of reprobate sleaze, tight-sprung rhythms, and zip-up guitar! The composition rides like a beefed-up Studebaker tearing down the Yellowhead Highway on a bright July morning. And the chorus is exquisitely unfussy. The organ (Miles Evans-Branagh) adds much to the luminous texture.
The anthemic title track from the album ‘Find A Better Way’ (mixed by the legendary Kevin Shirley, the producer of the Black Crowes) is an iron-specked (though well-defined) boogie with expressive guitar and sabulous vocals that convey the sense of reset and turnaround that (perhaps) we all need in these burdensome days. The congregational ‘feel’ is enriched by a choir that includes Tash Lorayne, Shezelle Weekes (The Arkells), and Chantal Williams.
As The Commoner’s lead singer, Chris Medhurst says – “Our current world throws a lot of challenges at us all. We don’t have control over that, but we do have control over how we respond. Find A Better Way […] speaks to the challenges we must overcome and our need in humanity to find a better way.”
‘Fill My Cup’ is also a conscientious rock ‘n’ roll number. Chris’s voice is working-man articulative: valiant, dynamic, and honest. The musicianship offered by the super-talented band is as tight as the waistbelt of a pole dancer. And with wonderful backing vocals from Chantal, the number feels sanctified. Additionally, the rhythms’ general vivacity will have an entire crowd of supporters up on their feet and gallopading. This is the very substance of soul-rock indefatigableness.
If you like your rock to be irrepressible, fullhearted, and positively authentic, this is for you!
RAW RAMP 