With a band name like Chickenpox Party, you’d better be ready to break out the fun and kick out the jams – and on its self-titled debut album from this past October the band definitely does the latter, melding Southern rock and blues to seriously good effect. Gregory Smith (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Brodie Davis (drums, percussion), and Joey Jones (bass, recording, production) hail from Brookhaven, Mississippi and they all bring their talents as music industry professionals to the table as the oddly-monikered Chickenpox Party.
The band members’ collective chops are on full display throughout the album, including a potent cover of ‘It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World’. It’s steeped in the blues, but given a harder rock edge by Smith’s center stage, plaintive vocals that are matched by a fluid, expressive electric guitar line. The album starts off on a silly note with the thankfully brief, piano-led ‘Scabby the Clown’ (complete with a party clown talking and kids giggling), but then immediately gets down to business on the instrumental ‘Dumbentia’. Dirty, metal-tinged guitar riffs, zig-zagging bass line, dynamic drum beat, and cymbal crashes run through the tune and then segue into “In the Woods” which keeps the same grimy guitar tone and active drum ‘n’ cymbals smash. Smith’s vocals are strong and clear as he delivers the lines “My life just ain’t as it seems / so I keep living my dreams / way back in the woods.” in a sing-talking style.
‘Fair Weathered Friend’ tamps it down at the start with solemn, but sharp organ notes and contemplative guitar cycles until it suddenly switches to spoken word found sound and gritty electric guitar lines. Smith comes in with slightly distorted vocals, exclaiming “I asked for relief and soon / but you’re at your end / Won’t be seen again…” Chickenpox Party tries on a smoother, soulful style with the instrumental ‘Mamacita’ that’s built on a ticking and tapping tempo and bass line groove. Little, nimble guitar lines scramble around a subdued, but equally supple electric guitar line while the drums beat out a restless rhythm.
The exciting, Red Hot Chili Peppersesque ‘Just the Same’ jumps straight into the rock with a cycling distorted guitar riff, rumbling bass line, and highly kinetic drum work. Smith emotes defiantly in Anthony Kiedis-style, exclaiming the dig “Too blind to see your life is not your own / You’ll gladly sing another person’s song.” The band continues to rock through the rest of the tunes of the 12 track-long album, closing with the slow stomp of ‘So Long’. It’s filled with a heavy rock groove of thick guitar riffs, emphatic drum hits, and tapped cymbals. Smith sing-talks pronouncedly the kiss-off lyrics against the hypocritical self-righteous, intoning decisively “You begin to speak of sin / To smell your breath I think you’re rotten from within.” Chickenpox Party is quite the opposite – a breath of fresh rock and blues with something to say about the current state of America.