Yellow Peril

by Nat Myers

Overview

The blues have been around forever (perhaps not literally, but close enough), and they evolve so steadily over time that someone can sound rather innovative by simply going backwards. Such is the case with Nat Myers, a singer and songwriter based in Kentucky who started as a poet but discovered singing the blues was a better medium for his verse, accompanied by strong guitar work that suggests he's spent plenty of time studying the likes of Skip James, Charley Patton, and Tommy Johnson. Myers writes, sings, and plays with authority and admirable gravitas, but one thing that sets him apart from his peers is that he's Korean-American, still rare on the blues circuit, and on his 2023 album, Yellow Peril, he offers some witty but pointed observations about anti-Asian prejudice in America in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though Myers sounds more wry than bitter after close to three years of hearing ill-informed cranks blaming Asians for masks, lockdowns, and social distancing, he's become all too well-acquainted with the litanies of white paranoia, and for all its humor, the title song twists its satiric knife with firm agility. The tune is good enough that you'll wish there were more like it among Yellow Peril's other nine tracks; while you can read a socio-political subtext into some of these songs of bad luck and trouble, for the most part these numbers focus on the familiar tropes of rural blues with intelligence and a delivery that prevents them from sounding like antiques, but they're still themes that have dominated acoustic blues for roughly a century. For all the snap in Myers' picking and confidence in his vocals, he doesn't seem interested in re-inventing the wheel on each cut. That said, he's a consistently strong and entertaining performer, and the naturalistic production from Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys captures the details with unobtrusive clarity, from the squeal of Myers' dobro to the stomp of his boot as he keeps time. Yellow Peril is a breezy and clever album that capably nudges rural blues into the year 2023, and Nat Myers is an artist to watch -- surely, he'll have more fresh things to say on his next LP, since social commentary is something he appears to do quite well. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	06/23/2023
Label:	Easy Eye Sound
UPC:	0888072481459
Rank:	37869

Tracks

1. 75-71
2. Trixin'
3. Yellow Peril
4. Ramble No More
5. Duck n' Dodge
6. Roscoe
7. Misbehavin' Mama
8. Heart like a Scroll
9. Undertaker Blues
10. Pray for Rain

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Nat Myers   Primary Artist,Dobro,Guitar,Vocals
Pat McLaughlin   Guitar,Mandolin,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background)
Dan Auerbach   Drums,Double Bass,Bass (Upright),Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background)
Leroy Troy   Banjo,Washboard,Percussion

Technical Credits

Pat McLaughlin   Composer
Greg Calbi   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Dan Auerbach   Mixing,Composer,Producer,Recording Producer
Alvin Youngblood Hart   Composer
Steve Fallone   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Allen Parker   Mixing,Engineer
McKinley James   Assistant Engineer
Jim Herrington   Photography
Perry Shall   Design
M. Allen Parker   Mixing,Recording
Caleb VanBuskirk   Engineer
Tyler Zwiep   Assistant Engineer
Jonny Ullman   Assistant Engineer
Nat Myers   Composer