This band, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, might not be familiar yet with Chicago or the midwest,  “But we’re long-time fans of WGN. We get WGN everywhere on Earth. I don’t know if you know that,” tongue-in-cheek, almost hamming up the southern boy naïveté to go along with a pronounced southern drawl.

Anyway – this is not your standard southern rock. And that was apparent from the moment the first chord rang out. Perhaps guitarist Lee Bains III’s AC/DC shirt and Gibson SG should have tipped me off. There are times when the Dexateens jam a hard rock sound, you can even hear some metal in there, but with a decidedly hillbilly heart – and I mean that in a great way. You can hear bluegrass in both the vocals and rhythms of every song and you get the feeling that it just comes out that way. It feels so deep-rooted in their sound that I don’t imagine they could play any other way even if they tried. At times I heard just hints of Neil Young, The Black Crowes and even some Kid Rock, believe it or not, but those are just my own music biases creeping in – the Dexateens have a sound all their own. And I dig it. They can slow it down too, like “Grandaddy’s Mouth.” (check out the partial video below.)

The Dexateens may have made their first Chicago stop this week, but it won’t be their last. I feel good about the staying power with this one. And so do the people at Austin City Limits, where they will be making an appearance.

Check out the videos below from the show, and head over to their MySpace to hear some more great stuff.

“Settle Down”

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Grandaddy’s Mouth” (partial)

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Makers Mound” (partial)

Click here to view the embedded video.

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