The Gaslights - Reviews

The Gaslights - 16 Addresses - (WEB LINK)

Andrew Miller of The Pitch - January 31, 2008

The Gaslights certainly live the country-song life, weathering vehicle breakdowns, van break-ins, emergency surgeries and lineup instability. But judging from the fiery material on 16 Addresses, the band's three remaining original members would rather brandish broken-off bottles than cry in their beers. Abigail Henderson, whose voice pairs rich twang with husky volume, snarls the phrase I'll never be your pretty little thing with enough corrosive disdain to stop the roughest roadhouse hecklers cold. Guitarist Chris Meck opens smoldering ballads with surf-style shivers, cuts country-rock songs in half with crisp solos and ends the standout track "Silver Ring" with a solid minute of ringing lead. Drummer Glen Hockemeier maintains a steady marching pace, shifting to a stomp when the group's raucous honky-tonk numbers reach a boil. 16 Addresses kicks like a boot with blood-stained spurs, and the Gaslights make no apologies for their aggression: I'm not easy, Henderson sings, nothing worth much ever is.

Hometown jams: Stuff the stockings with locally grown music - 16 Addresses - (WEB LINK)

The Kansas City Star - December 13, 2007

They sound like a Bloodshot band if ever there was one. But the Gaslights also bear that post-roots sound, a fusion of punk, country, rock and folk that was born in the 1980s (Lone Justice, X, Jason & the Scorchers, the BoDeans) and is not of the No Depression era.

The band’s prima voice is singer Abigail Henderson, whose range runs from a siren-wail (“Texas”) to a soul whisper (“Ponchatrain”) and whose twang is as soupy as a Delta bog (she says Tennessee as “Tayn-uh-sigh”)

It’s useful to compare her voice to other country divas and their offshoots, from Loretta Lynn and Dolly P. to Maria McKee, Neko Case and Miranda Lambert. But more and more Henderson sounds like a singer others ought to compare themselves to. The other voice here comes from her husband, guitarist Chris Meck, who knows that less can be a lot more, when what you say is clever and incisive. The broader picture is just as rewarding: the 12 songs here are a bracing mix of the rough, rowdy and melancholy — country-rock with attitude and sentiment, but no compromise. | T.F.

The Gaslights Lines and Wires - (WEB LINK)

By Don Grant - December 2005

This is going to be one band worth watching. On their first release, Midwest Hotel, the Kansas City based Gaslights demonstrated a high-octane energy approach to their music. That same energy is present here on the follow-up, one year later, but this go-round, some of that vitality has been diverted into some of the more reflective musings of singer/songwriter/guitarist Abigail Henderson. Here's a lady whose writing abilities have grown enormously and admirably in the interim, and the result is a well-balanced transition from where the band was, to where, evidently, they are headed. Check out songs such as “Trashed”, “Red Dirt”, “A Place to Fall”, and “Tattoo”, to name but four examples. It was written here less than ten months ago that echoes of Lone Justice were perceptible on their debut; that statement can no longer be justified. Henderson is charting her own course, both vocally and lyrically, and Meck's lead guitar work is, in a nutshell, tight, controlled, and tasty. A lot of the time a rhythm section tends to get overshadowed by the front-men, but, hey, don't sweat it guys; just how far could an aircraft fly without its wings to get it aloft? A band is the whole sum of its members, and this band is getting a whole lot better.

New Music Reviews - Enigmaonline.com

By Thomas Martin - October 27, 2005

Here at Enigma, we do things a tad bit different. We pride ourselves in seeking out music as much as we enjoy having music sent to us. And I get a lot of ‘promo copies’, usually three or four songs stripped of all artwork or physical description of the band. These discs get pitched in the garbage can at other arts/entertainment publisher’s offices. Here they are scrutinized. Here the little man gets a chance. You don’t need to make a one hundred thousand dollar album for it to be good. And this week The Gaslights three-song promotional copy says everything I want to say about music. Music is a sound and if it is a good sound it is good art.

Country outfit The Gaslights have a knack for arranging bluegrass standards and making them electrified western crossovers. The good news is it’s not ready for CMT and probably never will be. The Tammy Wynette, Lucinda Williams rounded vocals might be a bit much for domestic audiences right now. This one deserves a smoky bar and a room full of folks who have worked their asses off all week.

The Gaslights are this week’s underdogs that faired well. Come back to Chattanooga and treat us to some raw country rock. Keep sending those three song demos out because they make a difference. Also, send me the full length please.

The Gaslights Midwest Hotel - Think of Lone Justice on Amphetamines - (WEB LINK)

By Don Grant- Fall 2004

The driving force behind this CD would appear to be a lady named Abigail Henderson, writer and lead vocalist, and, when I say drive, I mean drive. This girl has her throttle fire walled here. Think of Lone Justice on amphetamines. Why? She has a sound and delivery that could make her Maria McKee's sister, and, her band, fronted by guitarist, Chris Meck, steamrolls along, his style akin to that of Justice's Hedgecock when he's rockin', and, the amphetamines? The pace is sheer steamroller/jackhammer deluxe here. The slowest tune, "Sundays and Interstates", is about 68/60, if I recall my old tempo measurements correctly. That would be at the lower end of a normal pulse rate, so, if you're on heart medication, approach this one with caution. I've always been attracted to bands that attack their art: no quarters asked, none given, no apologies, this is us, what we do, here we are. Gotta like this one.

Website By Mary C. Taylor