Named after the distance from the band’s hometown of Cincinnati to Graceland, 500 Miles To Memphis release their first Deep Elm album “Sunshine In A Sunglass”. I was quite impressed when I popped the cd into the stereo, as a very loud and punk sound came out, that reminded me of Flogging Molly or Dropkick Murphys. As soon as “All My Friends Are Crazy” started, I realized how this band is more inspired by indie rock and roll than those two punk rock / Irish bands I mentioned.

The band plays fast rock and roll, with loud guitars that become acoustic sometimes, and are a cross between Lucero and Against Me!, with a more pop attitude, as on such songs like “Broken, Busted, Bloody”, which has got slow, melodic and poppy rhythms. “I’ll Miss You (Whatever)” is a classic souther rock and roll song, while “Fireflies” is more punk oriented, but the general atmosphere you breath in the record is the one of a strong rock and roll album that does not want to be labelled, so let’s leave it that way.

Tracklist
01. All My Friends Are Crazy
02. Broken, Busted, Bloody
03. Don’t Mislead
04. Darlin’
05. My Time Is Up
06. Keep It Together
07. I’ll Miss You (Whatever)
08. Cheers
09. Fireflies
10. Let It Rain
11. Sunshine In a Shotglass
12. The Regret