Personally I was quite surprised with Tishamingo’s Wear n’ Tear. This was mainly because I’m not that fond of Southern rock because generally this music bores me to death. So what makes Tishamingo different from others? First of all despite the fact that there are obvious late ‘60, early ‘70 references the music doesn’t sound corny at all. The band sounds fresh and the excellent rhythms even makes the coolest among us tap along with the incredible relaxed drumming. OK it will take some time to get used to the occasional lap strings - yes, I’m biased, but luckily enough is going on not to be focussed too much on this little appealing instrument. The vocals took more time to get used to. This is not because of the lack of quality but the strong similarity with Rod Steward (the hoarseness in “Hillibilly Wine”) and Michel van Dijk.

The info leaflet states that this band already has a loyal fan base and over 200 shows are played every year. I can imagine this band going strong in the US, they definitely have the quality. Personally I feel that this band should more often step out of their regular structures. The track “Smoked Mullet”, with the awkward breaks and the uplifting rhythms is one of the best songs on the album, not in the least because it escapes from the average. This song makes me feel Tishamingo has more cards upon their sleeves than they are showing on Wear n’ Tear, which seems to be playing safe a little bit too much.