I have to confess, if I were lucky enough to be attending the Capitol Hill Block Party and The Grizzled Mighty came out and said something like, “We’re The Grizzled Mighty, have a good night!” and just walked right back off stage, I’d be astounded. I mean, it’s a helluva name and one I’m not even entirely sure makes sense, making the unconceivable conception of the name that much more mythical*. But, as you’d expect, with great band naming comes great songs. So, even if you’re less impressed with the band name than I, the encore of music they’ll (almost) assuredly play after announcing themselves should leave you with more or less the same sense of astonishment.
The guitarist, Whitney, is a former member of Deerhunter, a fact that is only apparent if you trace The Grizzled Mighty’s warbling, Southern-twanged sound to the geographical roots of Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox’s roots of Athens, Georgia. The southern region of our contingent 48 states has churned these classic rockers with modern influence out over the past couple years from the likes of Kings of Leon (circa 2007 standout pre-sellout Because of the Times), Alabama Shakes or Gary Clark Jr.. The Grizzled Mighty borrow the fuzz-rock of Gary Clark Jr., but the terrible-twosome inject it with a fearsome infatuation of guitar solos that the band describes as ones that “[bring] the erotic riffs of Hades to the trembling surface.” So, yeah, as you can see, the band is masterful at descriptions and it’s easy to see this knack bleed over into a formidable sound that’s sure to compose a show based a lot less on their kick-ass name and a lot more on the music’s ability to rile you up to kick some ass.
