Nato Coles and the Blue Diamond Band / State Drugs - Split Cassette

Motorcycle Potluck (2019)

Minus three points for being on cassette.  OK, now that I've gotten that out of the way, lets talk about this split cassette release from Motorcycle Potluck.  It has five songs and two bands.  One band I'm familiar with and the other I haven't heard before.

Nato Coles and The Blue Diamond Band are the band I've heard of before.  I have a split 7" of theirs with Your Pest Band and I'm super familiar with one of Nato's older bands, Modern Machines.  I really liked the Modern Machines and I was reasonably into Nato's next band, Used Kids.  There hasn't been anything that he's released as Nato Coles and the Blue Diamond Band that has really struck a nerve with me.  It's just a little too rootsy and Springsteen-ish for my personal taste.  It's certainly not bad, but it kind of feels like old people music to me.  Yes, I know I'm old, but there's that 80s rock sound that Bruce champions and I'm not really a fan of it.

State Drugs are more my speed.  Even though you can still hear something of an Americana influence (Tom Petty is the reference that comes to mind), they're playing it faster and more dynamic.  None of the three State Drugs songs sound like they are trapped in the past.  The inspiration is there, but the band is using it as a jumping off point to create their own sounds.  These songs are pretty decent and I would check out more from them in the future.

Nato Coles and the Blue Diamond Band / State Drugs - Split Cassette:
https://motorcyclepotluckrecords.bandcamp.com/album/nato-coles-and-the-blue-diamond-band-state-drugs-split