photo courtesy of Dan Lawson

Album Review of Dan Lawson Band: Relevant Chaos

A Dan Lawson Band record is always a rockin’ blues treat. Back in 2021, I reviewed the band’s Abyssal Plain record. This record, Relevant Chaos, is the band’s follow-up release. As with its predecessor, this album is a collection of excellently-delivered, raucous, gritty blues and blues rock, sounding much like it would at a dimly-lit, seedy bar, one whose well-worn condition belies the quality of the music within. You know, the kind where all the best bands play, but only the regulars are in on the secret.

“Wear It Well” kicks things off with a steady blues rhythm section, shouted-sung complaint-styled vocals belted atop, and some old-school blues rock riffs. A song like this? Well, it fits like a well-worn favorite shoe.

image courtesy of Dan Lawson

Just when you think you might have the album’s sound pegged, though, “Outway Street” follows, launching itself into some much funkier blues, particularly in the dancing axework, and most certainly during the aggressively funky solo. Still, the vocals attack, just as in the opening number. “Yeah, right!”

Versatility shows up in spades on the next track, as the band goes balladic with “Just Ain’t Easy.” It’s a damn fine classic rock ballad – a 5-minute slow song with a couple of big guitar solos, ideal for canoodling on the dance floor – with a bluesy edge. As repeated throughout the song, for emphasis, “Well, well.”

The band returns to the blues with an old-school rhythm and some nifty fretwork on “Let’s Ride.” Not a fast tempo, per se, but man, it’s persistent. This is one of those tracks that’ll get you bouncing out of your seat while you listen.

The band returns to a slower tempo on “Because” a meandering blues ballad with a commercial smoothness that’s actually the antithesis of some of the Dan Lawson Band’s rawer uptempo numbers. Of course, I love musical variety and am pleased when a talented band shows breadth of capabilities on a single record. Plus, this is a heck of a song.

Speaking of variety, “Yo Mama” is a swinging blues number, well-suited to a dancehall, a great tune to get the dancefloor hopping again following a slow dance number like “Because.”

The album ends with a 45-second guitar-noodling “Prelude” before the massive, musically-swirling, attention-absorbing “Story of the Blues,” a song that’ll have you swaying, hoping it’ll never end, as the guitarwork swirls and the agony-drenching deep blues vocals are delivered with strength and power. Early in the song, you’ll find yourself with your eyes closed, swaying along, and finally wondering after more than 6 minutes why the song ended so soon. If there’s anything that’ll get a listener to think “I’ve gotta hear that album again,” it’s a booming closing number like this one.

Throughout, Relevant Chaos does a great job of portraying how much fun a Dan Lawson Band live show would be, packaged into a recording that’s an equally fun listen. Or, at least, almost so. Nothing’s as good as a great live band in a live setting. But Relevant Chaos captures most of thay cool live energy. For rockin’ blues fans, it’s a must-listen 8-song collection.

Looking Ahead

The Dan Lawson Band is a 2025 New England Music Awards nominee in the “Blues Act of the Year” category; they’ll find out on Sunday if they’ve won, but with all the amazing blues in New England, every band nominated is pretty dang good. (In other words, it really is an honor to be nominated, even if they don’t win on Sunday.)

image courtesy of Dan Lawson

Album Review of Dan Lawson Band: Abyssal Plain

New England blues/blues rock group Dan Lawson Band kicks off its six-song CD with an old-school blues rhythm, groovy, shredding axework, and a seedy blues joint-worthy, half-spoken/half-sung, gravelly vocal growl on “Borderline.”

“Don’t Tell Me That You Love Me” is a classic blues jam, sporting only-in-blues lyrics like those from which the song title is drawn, “Don’t tell me that you love me, don’t be hanging ’round my back door.”

“Hell On Wheels” is that George Thorogood-styled, straight-ahead, attitude-filled blues rocker you’d expect from a good rockin’ blues group of the Dan Lawson Band’s caliber.

“Minor Issue” returns to slower, classic, poorly-lit club-style blues, much like “Don’t Tell Me…” earlier, serving up another tune built upon a classic blues rhythm, with wailing guitar supporting the emotional pleas of the vocals.

“Maryia” is the most classic rock-flavored song in this collection, with a ’70s or ’80s rock vibe. Striaght-ahead rock, “Maryia” brings to mind bands like the J. Giels Band, The Romantics, and the Michael Stanley Band. This tune would fall somewhere within the rock zone triangulated by that trio of rock mainstays.

“Turtle Soup” closes the six-song grouping with a frantic energy, sort of a rockabilly instrumental in blues-rock form. It’s as if the Dan Lawson Band is playing the patrons to the door, and indeed they are. The blues/rock club Abyssal Plain is closing for the night.

Throughout the disc, gritty, bluesy axework abounds, with all the energy of a top-shelf blues band at your favorite hole-in-the-wall dive bar packaged in album form. Thoroughly enjoyable beginning-to-end, I dig this disc.

Bonus

The band included its performance of “Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin'” in the review package I received. Available as a single, and dating back to 2014, I’ve gotta believe this groovy blues number is a favorite at the band’s holiday season gigs.

Looking Ahead

You can find where the Dan Lawson Band will be performing live via the “Calendar” page of the band’s website. There are currently 8 dates listed, in New Hampshire and Maine, from May through October, starting with a May 15th gig at the Kingston VFW in Kingston, NH. Check the website for details on currently scheduled shows and new performances as they’re added.