West End Motel/Ricer/The Not So Good Ole Boys

Brent Hinds, guitarist of the popular metal band Mastodon, has more than one musical side; one doesn’t involve head-banging and moshing. In 1993, years before Mastodon, Hinds met Tom Cheshire under a bridge in Atlanta, Georgia. Describing themselves as a “conglomerate of losers, poets, and hobo-sexuals,” they wrote acoustic-driven songs laced with keys and horns, and West End Motel was born. Though considered Hinds’ side project, West End Motel reflects Hinds’ early musical influences, mainly country-sounding guitar players like Chet Atkins, Jimmy Bryant, and Speedy West. Their second album, Only Time Can Tell, is a product of Hinds’ inspiration. Hinds’ guitar licks and solos in songs like “Bite,” “Valentine” and “Witch is Dead” are Southern- rock sounding, and the keys in songs like “El Myr” and “Only Time Can Tell,” the horns in “Burn it Down,” and the vocals throughout give this album a nice, soulful sound. (Sam Mendez)