Review DEWOLFF “Muscle Shoals”

DeWolff is a band that is slowly starting to gain attention outside of The Netherlands. In their home country, however, the trio is quite popular and had their breakthrough with the “Orchards/Lupine” album. From then on, the van de Poel brothers and Robin Piso were regular guests in the top 10 of the Dutch album charts, with their 2023 release “Love, Death & In Between” even climbing up to the top position.

With “Muscle Shoals” the latest album from DeWolff is in the starting blocks and the guys show once again why they are one of the most promising acts these days. The band shows great craftsmanship and it is their mesmerizing blues rock that leads to some excitement. Not even shying away from some falsetto moments like in “Out on the Town” demonstrates the three-piece’s broader musical approach. The trio has chosen the funky rocker “In Love” as the pole position, a song that spreads a sense of ease and allows a smooth start into the album.

“Natural Woman” was one of the lead singles and it’s a dynamic and soulful blues rocker that unfolds its full character immediately. There are also songs like the Hammond driven “Ophelia” while the blues roots come to the surface with songs like the pulsating “Truce” and the “Hard to Make the Buck” is built on a bluesy foundation as well. You should also listen to the dynamic “Book of Life”, which is very much driven by the piano, which generates a lot of wow-momentum. It’s almost a certain jazzy vibe that sneaks in here, which again speaks for DeWolf’s versatility.

A highlight of the album is certainly the eight-minute epic “Snowbird”. It is a very gentle beginning that blends blues and soul. This mélange immediately shows the greatness of this song, and the moment the chorus kicks in, the energy bursts. Not to forget the refined middle section with its extended solo part. First it’s the guitar that takes your breath away, while the following keyboard solo can easily compete with the singing six-string guitar. The great thing about the song is that DeWolff stays true to the overarching theme of the song, while at the same time adding nice twists that create a thrilling momentum.

With “Ships in the Night” we slowly reach the end of this release. The latter is a calmer and very emotional song that shows a lot of feeling before “Circada Serenade” takes over, being more of an outro than a song on “Muscle Shoals”.

DeWolff add with their latest longplayer a workpiece of musical excellence to their already rich history of releases. Great musical talent, combined with a great sense of melody and a down-to-earth approach allow the trio to write songs that are as thrilling as they are touching. It is the warm and organic sound that rounds out a very positive experience, making “Muscle Shoals” a musical oasis in stormy times.