Album Review – The Soda Crackers (Self-Titled)

The Bakersfield Sound (#510.6) on the Country DDS.

It’s only due to a few simple twists of fate that Bakersfield, California and nearby Los Angeles didn’t emerge in the ’60s as the new home of country music. It wasn’t just top names like Buck Owens and Merle Haggard who built their careers in the town. Bill Woods, Billy Mize, Bonnie Owens, Red Simpson, Rose Maddox, and many more made Bakersfield a power base for country music on the West Coast, and a mecca for country fans and hopefuls from all around the United States.

But over the decades unfortunately, the community of musicians and musical infrastructure in Bakersfield has slowly eroded to the point where it’s only a ghost and relic of its previous self. Many of the oldtimers, from the featured stars to the side players who backed them, they’ve passed on. Earlier this year, even Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace that acted as a shrine to The Bakersfield Sound announced its shuttering.

Now whenever Bakersfield is brought up in discussion, one of the big questions is, “Are there even any actual present-day country artists or bands originating from Bakersfield?” Though you can’t find the same community of musicians that made Bakersfield a rival to Nashville 60 years ago, that doesn’t mean the flame isn’t still burning in the hearts of a few brave musicians. Ladies and gentlemen, would you please welcome The Soda Crackers.

Since 2021, this group of of young musicians native to Bakersfield have been doing what they can to keep the authentic sounds, songs, and stories of The Bakersfield Sound alive. Directly inspired by making sure the town’s legacy is preserved in the live setting, they’ve been reprising the old classics for audiences old and young at The Crystal Palace and other local haunts. And with their official debut self-titled album, The Soda Crackers offer up some original songs of their own, inspired by the Bakersfield legacy.

What separated Bakersfield from Nashville? It was the town’s hot, twangy, electric, and somewhat less inhibited sound. As Nashville was awash with strings and chorus arrangements during the “Countrypolitan” era trying to appeal to urban audiences, the smoke-filled honky tonks in Bakersfield full of blue collar workers and farm hands became rowdy places where the excitement of country could still be heard and felt. This is what comes bursting out from The Soda Crackers.

First and foremost, this band gets all the instrumental tones and textures of the Golden Era of Bakersfield country eerily correct. As the opening guitar riff of the opening song “Texas Belle” crackles from your speakers, you feel it deep in your bones. It awakens an archaic, but eternal appeal that only authentic country music can inspire. They call it the Bakersfield Sound for a reason. And as students and preservationists of that sound, The Soda Crackers couldn’t be more spot on.

If we’re being honest, the songwriting here and the vocals are not the reason you seek these guys out. They’re not trying to break into the mainstream. But you appreciate that they aren’t just trying to be a reenactment of The Bakersfield Sound either. They’re trying to pay the sound forward and keep it growing, so including original songs in the endeavor is important. The Soda Crackers can play the catalog of Bakersfield hits front to back. But as they establish on this self-titled album, they’re not simply a cover band.

Six original songs grace their debut album to go along with iconic Bakersfield standards like “Dim Lights, Thick Smoke” recorded by virtually everyone from Bakersfield, and Merle Haggard’s “Silver Wings.” Singer, frontman, guitar and fiddle player Zane Adamo writes or co-writes most of their original songs, including standouts “Tomorrow’s Used To Be” and “Two-Step Solution.” He’s joined by his brother Cooper Adamo in the band, who are both Bakersfield natives.

Other members include Chuy Holguin, Ben Mathiews, Ben McCarthy, Jeff Gerow, while it’s also not uncommon to see the band backing others, or having other Bakersfield musicians sit or sub in. Just as much as they’re a band, The Soda Crackers are a musical collective doing what they can to keep the California influence in classic country alive in the modern context, and against the odds and headwinds blowing down the San Joaquin.

In no uncertain terms, The Soda Crackers are actively saving The Bakersfield Sound, and deserve a serious hat tip for their efforts.

7.8/10

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