Black Diamond Heavies

The overdriven Fender Rhodes keyboard and smoky, sandpaper rasp of singer John Wesley Myers provide the sonic backdrop for the Black Diamond Heavies' Southern-tinged, punk-influenced blues and soul. But the act stands out for its fearless — and absolutely raunchy — approach to recording. On songs like "Bidin' My Time" and "Poor Brown Sugar," the duo fills extra space with skull-rattling trash-can drums that reverberate like distant artillery shells, and a guttural vocal delivery that sounds like the microphone is attached to Myers' violently shuddering larynx. In a live setting, the Black Diamond Heavies delivers an animated show that reflects this colorful approach: At one moment, the band's songs recall a whiskey-soaked nightclub dance floor — and the next, a stirring Baptist revival.