Rob "Splatt" Appelblatt- Weathervane  (click on image to watch video)

 05 September 2019

Rob “Splatt” Appelblatt owes a great deal of credit for his debut to Steve Earle. Not only was this New Yorker inspired to get to work writing his own material after attending one of Earle’s “Camp Copperhead” songwriting retreats, but songs like “Homeward Bound” and “Leaving It All Behind,” have that distinctive Earle grit and rock guitar wrapped in a little country twang.

That’s not to say Appelblatt is a little more than a one-man cover band; he manages to take influences from Earle as well as a slew of others who have straddled the country/rock divide over the years (solo Springsteen, John Prine, etc.) and put his own distinctive stamp on the music. The title track and first single is decent enough if pretty standard Country/Americana fare (we a touring band, here’s some of the crazy stuff we’ve seen). But it’s tracks like the rollicking “Caroline” where Appelblatt really shines, both lyrically and as a singer/strummer. The same can be said for “Thunder Mountain” about a buddy joining the Marines, another common theme with Country songwriters nowadays, but Appelblatt’s knack for an unusual turn of phrase makes the song stand out. 

The only moment here that misses the target is “Movin’ On,” a tongue in cheek song about making an ex-sleep at his feet, cook his food and fetch his beers that could possibly have been a hit a couple of decades ago, but just sounds tone-deaf in 2019. Regardless Weathervane is a solid debut and even better when you realize Appelblatt was only two years removed from his motivation to start writing his own music again.

John B. Moore has been covering the seemingly disparate, but surprisingly complementary genres of Americana and punk rock for the past 20 years.

Blurt/New Noise Magazine/InSite Atlanta/NeuFutur Magazine

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