Steeped in Midwestern storytelling, St. Louis-based Atomic Junkshot draws its gritty blend of Midwest-inspired rock ’n’ roll, country and blues from influences such as Ray Wylie Hubbard, Steve Earle, and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.
“There is something pretty retro about the way they’re getting to the hook,” critic Chadwick Easton wrote of the band in Melody Maker Magazine. "I’m quite hesitant to call any part of their framework steeped in old-school cues. The approach is as classic as it gets … exclusive and original in every department.”
Atomic's approach reflects the diverse backgrounds of its members including Mark Murdaugh on lead guitar and harmonica, Clay Mudd on bass guitar, percussionist Brian McCary and Aaron Perlut on rhythm guitar and vocals.
“We're kind of an island of misfit toys who take our love of rock, country, and blues and pair it with a very personal, sometimes sarcastic lyrical edge,” said Perlut. “Some people say we have a little punk rock in us. All I know is that our songs speak to our lives here in the Midwest—about things that interest us or piss us off, the experiences that have both damaged and raised us up, and the dysfunction we see every day.”
Perlut’s songwriting is offbeat, admittedly wordy and the band’s straight forward rock- and country-inspired rhythms are designed to blend seamlessly with more complex rock and blues-derived leads.
As Raised by Cassettes noted in a review of the Atomic Junkshot single Dirt Roads, the band lies ....."Somewhere between Lynyrd Skynyrd and Lou Reed's Wildside, Atomic Junkshot brings out these winding guitars for an almost-twang sound but it's slow and plodding. The closest sound I can really compare this with is that classic Southern rock sound, though it is not completely that," rounding out with "this song hits home and just feels like an essential part of America we don't talk about enough."
Midwestern storytelling—an essential part of America, indeed—told authentically with the earnest, satirical grit that is Atomic Junkshot.
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Read reviews about the band here on GigSalad.
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