BICENTENNIAL DRUG LORD, You Are Never Alone

The glorious, much needed comfort offered by Milwaukee based psychedelic retro-rock (with a tinge of country twang) trio Bicentennial Drug Lord on their full-length debut You Are Never Alone falls somewhere between their ominously trippy band name and the inspirational, gospel leaning vibe of the album title.

They hit the heart of this Midwestern born reviewer whose life was changed by a sweet relationship with a magical pet just right, with cleverly rendered tunes  about the forgiving nature of “Pabst Blue Ribbon” (the Milwaukee born beer that inspired the jangly opening singalong), those brutal winters (the infectiously fuzzy pop-rocker “Before the Icicles and Frost”) and not one but two uplifting gems about ultra-special animals that add magnificent uplift to our lives when we most need it – the dreamy and soulful, fiddle laced “The Ballad of Snooki the Pit” and the epic mid-tempo power ballad “Daylight Through Your Eyes.”

But clearly it’s not all about me. BCL is the powerful collective vision of three guys with long term roots in other popular indie bands like Soda and Maki (vocalist/bassist John Daniels), Punchdrunk (vocalist, guitarist, harmonica master Rick Donner) and Soda, Maki, Sparklehorse and Hotel Lights (vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist and lap steel virtuoso Alan Weatherhead.

Though their beautiful harmonic vocals alone are worth the price of admission, it’s their hooky songwriting and clever turns of phrase that ultimately draw the ears to the album’s other gems like the peppy “Like An Accident” (an alternately whimsical/wistful  reflection on the disposability of some relationships) and the traditional-minded country ballad “Rock Bottom” (a song about an oddly enduring romance featuring the stunning harmony vocals and surreal fiddle solo of guest artist Libby Rodenbough of the folk band Mipso).

As a group of veteran artists, the trio’s acknowledgement of how quickly time has passed/is passing is an ongoing theme, expressed most uniquely in the two songs that form the emotional core of the album – both grand and important reminders that as we age, we are truly never alone. The edgy, high spirited romp “Iggy Pop” uses the godfather of punk as a symbol as BDL ponders these realities after a fellow musician’s memorial service last year.

The other “death will soon be upon us all” tune is “The Gates of Headley Grange,” a mystical mini-symphony that muses about the English workhouse where Led Zeppelin and others recorded in the 70s as something of a Valhalla for rockers, where the departed hold memorials for the living as the living celebrate the souls of the departed. Not that it will matter to those streaming, but conceptually, BDL makes sure in its promotional materials to note that the ten tracks are to be consumed as if there is an A side and a B side. You Are Not Alone is perhaps the most positive and thought provoking way to spend a musically concise 30 minutes!