A dense and swampy piece of stormy and delicate blues from Gary Dranow and his trusty band is always going to be an amazing way to start the week. ‘Masked Facade’ is no exception. A heavy and characterful release that sounds utterly beautiful, the song features everything that makes Gary Dranow stand out as a musician.
Based in Park City, Utah, The Gary Dranow Band is led by the titular Gary Dranow, a singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose soulful yells and crispy riffs and licks make his songs extremely attractive for lovers of blues and rock. ‘Masked Facade’ is the title track of Dranow’s latest album, a labor of love in the words of himself and of his longtime producer and collaborator, the Ukrainian Klym Apalkov. A concept album about a character with dissociative personality disorder, Masked Facade follows the dark and twisted narrative of Patrick, a loving and dedicated husband and workman by day, a serial killer preying on women by night, called Brian. The concept follows the involved story of the protagonist’s family, wife, son, and daughter, and the detective working to put him behind bars.
Musically, ‘Masked Facade’ starts with a juicy riff that just tells you a worthwhile listen will follow. The song is an apt introduction to the concept of the album, introducing the main character and the struggles ravaging inside him. It is also a terrific introduction to Dranow’s guitar magic, his songwriting sensibilities, as well as to his dramatic and soulful delivery. The blues melodies, ever so familiar and iconic, are beautifully balanced on ‘Masked Facade’. The blues in minor chords are sweet and tragic, the punchy production is tight, with a slow beat, a monstrous bass line, an rich walls of organs to support Dranow’s charismatic lead and rhythm playing and his gripping storytelling. Accompanied by a beautifully shot video that starkly displays the duality between the lives of Patrick and Brian, his ordinary days as an employee and a family man, and his predatory, deranged evenings, the clip elevates the song to an encompassing audio-visual delight that does a fantastic job setting the scene for what seems to be one of the album’s landmark blues rock releases.
A grandiose effort from The Gary Dranow Band that we’ve come to expect from the expert bluesman. Masked Facade is now eagerly anticipated, and the title song is a perfect teaser for all the haunting storytelling and bluesy goodness that is to come.
