At last year’s Folk Alliance I had the pleasure (pun intended) of seeing a new-ish duo from Australia, Catherine Britt and Lachlan Bryan, who now perform as The Pleasures. Both had already established themselves at solo artists, Britt as an internationally respected country music award winner, and Bryan as a veteran rock and roll road warrior. They met a decade ago and friendship progressed into something more akin to sibling love/rivalry. At that point they realized 1 + 1 was equaling 3 and they officially became The Pleasures in 2022, with their 2nd album, Enemy Of My Enemy, recently being released.
The record hits the ground running with the title track opener, a lo-fi rock and roll number featuring Bryan’s fuzzy, dive-bar guitar riffs. Like many of the cuts it looks at relationships from a decidedly more mature perspective, here understanding “we are only just the means to an end.” Wild Things is another rocker about people who can’t live with fences. When the duo snarls, “you’re a black-hearted, upstarted, hair parted sideways crazy motherfucker on a long, lonely highway wannabe” it’s narrative storytelling at its finest. Love Relapse is an 80’s power pop anthem that brings to mind big hair and Members Only jackets when the vocal hook grabs you at the end.
There’s plenty of homage given to Britt’s country music past as well. Step Away is a slow country waltz with a melancholy feel and a fine steel guitar track. Where the Money Goes features some banjo in a tale of a gold digger, but with a little admiration because “there’s nothing wrong with the shiny things.” Good People leans more toward outlaw country as it considers what it means to be a good person. The answer seems to be rooted in blue collar values because “like my mama said, you try until you’re dead.” After all the stories of learning to live with the connected dysfunctions called life, We’re All A Little Blue is an appropriate closer and showcases the duo’s vocals as well as any tune on the record.
Merging rock and roll and country styles goes back nearly as far as either genre has been around. Sam Phillips was certainly tapping that vein back in the 50’s, southern rock took it to new heights, and nowadays many people call it outlaw country. Even with the passage of all that time, musicians are still finding ways to make it new and fresh, and that’s exactly what you can say about The Pleasures. Get a copy of Enemy Of My Enemy and hear it for yourself.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.