100 WATT Vipers: Travel’n Shoes EP Review

Travel’n Shoes is the grungy, raw, and deserving new product of “hard garage blues” duo 100 WATT Vipers, consisting of Paul Joseph on guitars and D.J. Riddick on drums and vocals. Fledging with full force into the music world from Jacksonville, Florida, the talented team are sure to make their rounds, leaving each impressionable audience with a live soundtrack to be fondly remembered, and moving on confidently to the next, all by means of these travel’n shoes.

The EP begins to play with the distorted, steady, rock-riff infused track called “ Sleeping Dogs.” While listening to the song, one feels instantly as if the world around him has become a quaint, darkened, sweaty venue, with the two members aglow under hot blue, pink, and yellow stage lights, while he, the listener, is transfixed by the power of rock and roll. The song “My Cup Is Empty” follows up next, opening with 40 seconds filled with a beautifully pure, blues rock guitar solo that stands alone at first, and then produces a melody that supports the rest of the song as the vocals lay down an honest and weary story. “Travel’n Shoes” will instantly catch one off guard, instilling its sensational groove into the listener, locking it deep down into the hollows of his bones.

“Black Mountain Holler” is solely instrumental, serving as a properly placed middle point, shift or break in the direction of the work. “Doing The Best I Can,” with its provoking and straightforward lyrical lines and groovy instrumentals, will have one pulled in and captured at the very moment it breaks through a speaker or echoes from a stage. “Wild Mary” captures the very essence of rock, with its simple lyrics and instrumentally driven core; it is a song which questions this woman and her motives underneath wailing guitars and an unshakable rhythm. At last, “4AM” begins as the final track, the most unique, stand-out track of the EP, carrying an entirely different persona. A lone acoustic guitar is the single component, producing its eery, almost haunting, song.

100 WATT Vipers seem simple and familiar in their musical approach and dynamic, and yet, something feels unique and striking about them. This EP is sure to get the listener’s attention, and will leave them with only the desire for more.

The Review: 7.5/10

Can’t Miss Tracks

– Sleeping Dogs
– Travel’n Shoes
– 4AM

The Big Hit

– Travel’n Shoes

Review by Jill Jacobs