“I never set out to write a certain type of song. The songs usually strangle me until I get them right,” says Columbus, OH-based singer-songwriter Jeff German. German’s Slothtrop debut, 12 Rounds, is evidence that German had many close calls at the hands of his own songs. While German may be new to many as a solo act, he is a veteran musician. He was a member of quintessential Ohio band The Cur Dogs and works often as a studio musician in the Midwest and as a supporting musician for numerous acts such as Bloodshot Record’s Lydia Loveless.
Ten of these tunes comprise 12 Rounds. “12 Rounds was nothing like I thought it would be. I was going for a ‘five guys in a room playing’ type of feel and wound up with a full on Midwest Rocker. No complaints but that’s the truth,” says German of the new record. And rock it does, from the album opener and lead single “Sit and Think” on. That track’s chorus finds German singing “This town needs a bar ‘cause I need a drink,” over a building drumbeat. “This is a song that was inspired by characters in books I read that just come at me and won’t leave me alone. Good guys stuck doing wrong things and not knowing how to stop the cycle,” German says of the single, which will be available in a special limited edition with original artwork. Other standout tracks include “Kro-Bide,” a triumphant working-class anthem with a winning guitar solo. On “Long Road to Nowhere,” German intones a tribute to radio with impeccably timed delivery.
Jeff German will re-release his debut album 12 Rounds for Slothtrop on March 18, 2014 with the first pressing receiving a special 200 piece Limited Edition vinyl pressing featuring hand numbered original artwork.