Glasslands
October 23^rd, 2009
By: Ross Edwards 

Bottle Up and Go brought their sloppy grunge-blues to Glasslands for CMJ, kicking off a short set with twanging slide guitar and distortion-tinged vocals. The songs are really straight-up rock, tightly performed, country-steeped, and best accompanied with shots of whiskey. Keenan Mitchell played unison guitar and vocal melodies, backed by Fareed Sajan’s explosive drumming, and sonically mixing it up with baritone sax squeaks and shrieks.

The band has a solidly recognizable sound because of its sparseness — the lone guitar and drum sound features melodies that are proudly blues-drenched. Harkening back to American folk songs, three chords per song is all they need. The draw is in the intensity, and their urge to spread that energy like fire through an audience. Like Howlin’ Wolf mixed with Melvins, Bottle Up and Go are the anti-indie rock.