Spero: Pride EP Review

There’s no mistaking the impression that bands like The White Stripes and The Black Keys have left on the blues world. Anytime you think that the vocalist might have a megaphone, or when you make the mistake of thinking that you and that one drummer you know might just be able to pull off something similar, you’re wandering into trails blazed by White and Auerbach. What makes Spero interesting is that while they certainly make their home in this corner of the genre, they don’t lean too heavily on the raw garage sound you might expect, instead opting for eerie subtly where needed (“Better Man”) or managing a danceable, bottle-smashing bar tune (the mid section of “Friend”). Other influences shine through on Pride – Wolfmother on “Friend,” Cold War Kids on “Pride,” and, oddly enough, Machester Orchestra on “Talking Up.” This isn’t to say that Pride is a collection of tracks that can simply be reduced to homages – Jesse Hofstee and Hillary Laughery play off of each other wonderfully to create their own dynamic sound that comes off a little folksy when upbeat and a little psychedelic when downbeat.

Pride, for all its angst, might not be the rawest of modern blues rock, but it does follow the same blueprints closely enough to be comfortably considered a sibling to the increasingly-popular garage-band blues rock phenomena while remaining brave enough to wander a little bit.

The Review: 7.5/10

The Big Hit

– Can’t Get No More

Review by Richard MacDougall