Savannah Stopover

Some bands are difficult to describe without putting an emphasis on their hometown. Growing up in Alabama, Lee Bains & The Glory Fires were raised on the melodies of old-church hymns and the preachings of southern rock. Having left Alabama to attend college in New York, Bains began performing with the Dexateens, until they announced their end in 2010. Unable to leave the music scene, Bains formed the Glory Fires, whose debut album skillfully combines the garage sound with the rugged soul of southern rock.

Titled There is a Bomb in Gilead, the Alive Records release gets its name from the misheard hymn, “There is a Balm in Gilead,” appropriately harkening back to Bains’s early musical influences. Grungy, bluesy, soulful and sometimes venturing into punk, their sound is always deeply rooted with a southern rock sensibility not unlike Skynard, Creedance, or the Allman Brothers. While the album holds its own, good sources say Lee Bains & The Glory Fires is not to be missed live. Todd Been of Lucero says, “to wrap your head around it, you have to see this band all up in your face-holes. It’s precisely what I want MY Southern rock to sound like.”