With very little fanfare, the Literary Greats have established themselves as one of Houston’s most interesting bands and, if not one of the most ambitious, a group with a knack for getting their songs in front of the right ears. Two years ago, the Greats’ LP Ocean, Meet the Valley — as musically picturesque as its title — had a nice run on CMJ music chart, which doesn’t happen often to bands that release their own product. Thursday the group releases follow-up Black Blizzard, another evocative album of songs about poverty, fidelity and Chinaberry trees (the opener). With melodies as intense as the lyrics, the Greats’ Wilco-like live shows are another reason these five unassuming guys have become a band worth paying attention to — call it roots-rock if you want, but these roots go down awful deep.
This article appears in Apr 28 – May 4, 2011.
