For their latest album, C-Level kindles a fiery blend of funk, punk, blues and reggae.
On “Burn Your Own Gasoline,” the Cleveland genre-bending trio of Dave Deitke (vocals, guitar), Cody Crose (bass) and Pat Boland (drums) ignites a blazing sonic wildfire that’s quickly spreading along Ohio’s north coast and the Midwest. It’s the band’s first release since 2018’s “Rights” concept EP.
“It’s about burning your own gasoline, running off your own fuel and inspiration, and the driving force behind it. We’ve been hustling real hard to get better spots and other sounds and stuff together, and we’ve been running off our own ambitions,” said Deitke about the band’s fourth album, which dropped Friday.
C-Level’s sizzling nine-track album opens with a timeless blues cover, “Bac Bac Train,” originally recorded by Mississippi Fred McDowell and later reinterpreted by Aerosmith. It features a rousing combination of bluesy, vibrant guitars and pounding drums chugging back toward the station – “Way way down/Way way down/Way way down that lonesome road/Bac bac train/Bac bac train will take you home again.”
“That’s a traditional blues thing that Cody and I used to cover in a lot of renditions of the band. A lot of this record is getting stuff we’ve done down the way we wanted to have it,” said Deitke, who formed the band with Crose in 2010 and added Boland to the lineup three years ago.
Deitke, Crose and Boland also shine on the album’s melodic third track, “Wherever I Go,” which weaves tremolo guitars with delicate cymbal taps and pulsating drums into a heartfelt ode reminiscent of the John Butler Trio – “Leave a mark they can’t remove/Streets wear through souls and wear through shoes/Breathe in cold air/Exhale, find a trace of her there/Wherever I go, I hope you are there/And wherever I go, I hope you are there.”
Another sultry track includes the funky reggae-inspired “For Some Account” with island-like guitars and deep, relaxing bass to transport listeners to a tropical getaway. A chorus of “oohs” beautifully backs this six-minute mental escape – “Know these words you speak are true/Cuz everything I see I like in you/Don’t turn it inside out/And leave me with no room to doubt/I know/For some account I know.” Continue reading “Fiery Ambition – C-Level Ignites Blazing Blend of Genres on ‘Burn Your Own Gasoline’”
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