Dave Arcari must have the stamp of reliability tattooed upon his person for the five songs on his “Hellbound Train” EP are guaranteed to please the fans of his high octane twelve bars to dawn approach to the blues.
It is true that “Good Moonshine” may well be counted as more bluegrass than blues but it still is a drinking song so at least the mighty Arcari train hasn’t been diverted on to entirely the wrong track and “Travellin’ Man” shows that his train will still be stopping at all the right stations even if an underlying sentimentality makes an unscheduled appearance. However, the other songs here, “Hellbound Train” and a respectful take on “Pearline”, illustrate that the man and his guitar are, as always, a match made down at the crossroads.
While Arcari non-believers will most likely be left wanting more, it is nonetheless true that Dave Arcari is the only bluesman that you could imagine playing his guitar whilst riding a surfboard into the Earth’s atmosphere.