Every Hour is a Dollar Gone
Patrick Sweany
Nine Mile Records

Following up last year's stellar CD C'mon C'mere, Massillon guitar slinger Patrick Sweany is back for another round. And what a round it is. Every Hour is a Dollar Gone takes that impeccably-crafted Americana with the woozy, garage rock mindset and piles on layers of gritty, grimy Midwest rawk from the 70s. For this new CD, Sweany scored a 1-2 punch in the production department: friend/collaborator Dan Auerbach of Akron's The Black Keys and Paul Hamman (Pere Ubu, James Gang, Grand Funk Railroad) contribute to this sound from behind the boards. The results are sweaty and honest -- one foot's still in those rootsy blues -- delivered with impeccable panache and unique, transgenerational appeal. It's new and entirely lo-fi, yet so remarkably familiar it will throw off your chronological gauges.

From the opening strains of "After a While," replete with it's yeah, man! call-and-response, you quickly realize that Sweany's going for a whiskey-soaked roadhouse rock sound. The dirty, fuzzy guitars and drum-bash vibes sound like they should be wafting up from a 1977 Dosdge Aspen's old AM radio... you know, the one with the lighted 8-Track player in it? That spirit carries through in standout tracks like "Them Shoes," "Wednesday Night," "Two or Three" and the sexy "Hotel Women." Yes, Sweany is very inspired by those great bluesmen and true country/western artists of the past 6 decades, but he's also making truly redemptive, restorative music for real people. His moving narratives draw blood and they bruise, but they nurture and scar and heal as well. Sweany's every bit the highly lauded singer-songwriter and guitar guru, but with Every Hour, he's longer a myth in the making anymore. He's a full-blown star. Look out world.

Patrick Sweany performs a full-band show at the Lime Spider in Akron this Saturday, September 8 at 9PM. The line-up also features Interfuse and Radar Secret Service. The Lime Spider is located at 207 S. Main St. in Downtown Akron, between Church and University St., across from the Civic Theatre. This is the final show at Lime Spider ever; the club is closing for good. Visit the Lime Spider at http://www.thelimespider.com and Patrick Sweany at http://patricksweany.com.

From Cool Cleveland Managing Editor Peter Chakerian peterATcoolcleveland.com

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