Category: Album of the Day

Album of the Day: The Total Rejection – The Time Traveller’s 3rd Will and Testament

The Total Rejection- The Time Traveller’s 3rd Will and Testament (4.5 out of 5)

Full disclosure, here at Rock is the New Roll we are huge fans of Austin Powers era Mojo-Garage Rock in the Little Steven Underground Garage mold. And, the latest record from The Total Rejection checks off all of the paisley boxes in fine fashion. From the 13th Floor Elevators inspired romp “Fly (Lost in Time/Party Nine)”, a song that Syd Barrett himself might dismiss as too drug-addled, to the Small Faces hipster glory of “Next Time I See You Around” there is a passion of purpose on display with every turn of a tune.

As the song cycle continues, you seem to be going down a worm-hole of back to the future grooviness spanning somewhere from the mid-sixties all the way to around 1973 before you spin around and go back down the rabbit hole of wonderment to discover the mojo dance party of “Tracy Said” along with the organ-drenched Paul Revere and the Raiders vibing “Next Time I See You Around.”

And then, 15 songs in, just like that, the closer, “Distress Signals From A Planet On The Edge of Despair” takes you to Red Sector A with a wild Space-Mojo jam that wraps it all up with a cosmic bow and sends you back to a reality that will leave you thinking, what has just happened?

Album of the Day: The Successful Failures – Pack Up Your Shadows

The Successful Failures – Pack Up Your Shadows

The first thing you should know about The Successful Failures is that any attempt to plug them into one genre or another is very much a fool’s errand. Hailing from Trenton, N.J., the band deftly combines Americana, Pop, Rock, and enough of a dusting of Bluegrass that serves as an appetizer to the main course without overwhelming the entire meal.

Originally intended to be an E.P., once the pandemic hit the band used the extra time available to expand the project into a proper full-length record, and what a record it is. Once you get past the mandolin introduction on the opening track “Honeycomb” for fear that a Flatt and Scruggs Hee Haw hoedown is awaiting, all seems to be well when Mick Choba’s vocals kick with his whiskey-soaked voice sounding like a less ramshackle Rhett Miller in full Old ’97s mold. “On Down The Line” is a perfect Honky Tonk sing-along, and “Whiskey Song” toes the Americana with a touch of Country line to perfection.

With the song “This Girl,” the first single from the record, there is more than a passing acquaintance with Power Pop by way of The Bodeans while the song structure puts on full display the master-class level songwriting inherent with the band.

“She used to, she used to be naked, now she’s always undressed she used to be lonely now she’s only making the best of this world she’s making the best of it.”

 

“Murder ‘neath the Silver Moon” is a murder ballad and a marvel of a song that doesn’t end well for our hero. Spoiler alert, he shouldn’t have cheated on her. These guys even morph the somewhat hokey “My Bucket’s Got a Hole In It” into a musical dual guitar, call and response feast for the ears.

This is a great band and should be on your list of best albums of 2020, no question.

 

Album of the Day: Wendy James – Queen High Straight

Wendy James – Queen High Straight (4 out of 5)

As frontwoman for Transvision Vamp, Wendy James was fearless leading the band to top ten hits with “I Want Your Love” and “Baby I Don’t Care” before the band disbanded. Now, after collaborating with the likes of Elvis Costello, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, and Nick Cave she is alone and out on her own with a new record that combines Soul, Vintage Pop, Funk, and pretty much every other cool genre you can come up with.

The opening title track sounds like it could have been peeled right off the Dusty in Memphis record, “Perilous Beauty” and could have been on a Pixes’ record, and “Marlene Et Fleur”  would have been perfect on any of the early-era Bangles records. One of the more intriguing aspects of this album is the ability to travel from one musical era to another at the blink of an ear, case in point the ’60s Phil Spector girl-group vibe of “Free Man Walk” followed immediately by “Stomp Down, Snuck Up” that could have been on any mid-career Madonna release, and “Little Melvin” that has a bit of a Sharon Jones and the Dap Kinks funky soul in it.

Pleasurable sound nuggets are everywhere with quite possibly the best of the lot “Bar Room Brawl & Benzedrine” showing off the backing bands’ musical prowess. This is a shape-shifting tour de force that is best savored loud and in large doses.

 

 

Album of the Day: Tremendous – Relentless

Tremendous – Relentless (4 out of 5)

One of the best Glam Rock debut records to come out in quite some time, at least since the Struts’ Everybody Wants when Luke Spiller first hit our ear-waves, and this one is destined to be a keeper. The album pulls no punches in introducing you to the band opening-up with a three-song salvo of their previously released singles, Wondermints all of them with “Don’t Leave Our “Love (Open For Closing),” “Like Dreamers Do,” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Satellite” all having you at hello.

Sort of combining the more bombastic sound of The Strokes with the coolest elements of ’70s Suzi Quattro Glam, every song is well crafted, hooks-aplenty, and with a surprise around every turn song after song. The real beauty of this Glamtastic record is that it combines the gritty Pop-Glam sounds of contemporary bands in the mode of The Killers while all the while keeping their cosmic boots firmly entrenched on the Mott the Hoople, T Rex, and David Bowie Party train.

This is not your grandfather’s Bay City Rollers Glam. We have already got this one on our the shortlist for Rock and Roll album of the year.

 

 

 

Album of the Day: Ocean Alley – Lonely Diamond

Ocean Alley – Lonely Diamond (5 out of 5)

If ever there was a band that literally sounds like the geography of where they are from Australian band Ocean Alley would fit that bill perfectly. Combining psychedelic overtones, surf guitar, and ’70s Pop you can almost feel the wind and sense the surf crashing on the beach as each song swells and drifts into the next.

The touchpoints here may be obvious with the bending notes of David Gilmour and the languid riffs of Pink Floyd front and center, but this one goes deeper than that. The swirling “Tombstone” has a bit of Supertramp in its DNA, “Up In There” soars and meanders with a more contemporary feel, and “Stained Glass” is a blissful epic that would have fit quite nicely on the Breakfast In America Album.  There is even a touch of Little River Band in “All Worn Out,” a ballad that is to our ears the best of the lot.

For extra credit go back and spend some time with their 2018 album, Chiaroscuro, a record that had four singles make it onto the triple j Hot 100, the Aussie equivalent of Billboard.

Album of the Day: Jet Jaguar – Endless Nights

Who knew that one of the newest and most exciting New Metal bands to come around in a heck of a long time would be from Cancun, Mexico. On this, the band’s much-anticipated debut album, the band is more than meeting the lofty expectations set for them after becoming the first-ever Hispanic-American group to win the Wacken Open Air Metal Battle in Germany.

Drawing influences from the ’80s themed Metal bands with a pinch of Glam and Melodic Rock threw in to satisfy the faint of heart, the DNA of MTV bands the likes of Dokken, Kiss, Winger, Motley Crue, early Skid Row along with Judas Priest in their heavier moments, is the order of the day. The singer Max Mendoza with the looks of a Hispanic Michael Hutchence throws his voice out there in the Axl or Myles Kennedy range and takes total command of the stage in their live performances. “Blinding Lights,” the first single out of the gate is a scorcher, and even the two songs on the record sung in Spanish are ear-catching and cool with “Tormenta” as one of the highlights of the record that will be a clear favorite when the band hits the road for their South American tour in 2021.

 

Album of the Day: Stephen Dale Petit – 2020 Visions

Stephen Dale Petit (4.5 out of 5)

It seems that California based guitar player Stephen Dale Petit has waited for his entire career to produce this record that is a mini-masterpiece and a master class in what modern Blues Rock should be, and where it is headed. And this, complete with album artwork from Klaus Voorman, the artist who created The Beatles’ Revolver cover, is, by all accounts, his own personal best and has the potential for Grammy consideration in the Blues category. Joe Bonamassa may get all the press these days, But this guitar slinger that has already made a name for himself on the other side of the pond can easily stand fret for fret with his idol.

With about as diverse a palet of songs as you will find, every Blues nugget presented here stands alone. One second the sonic wonder of Stevie Ray hits you between the ears on “Tinderbox,” and in the next breath all hell breaks loose with the snarling Clash influenced title track on “2020 Visions.” The nuanced slow burn of “The Ending of the End” brings to mind both Kings, Freddie and B.B., and “Steppin’ Out” would hold up quite spectacularly at the crossroads battling it out with the devil for the soul of the song.

Anthems are not left out of the mix, and “Soul of a Man,” a song that features Shemekia Copeland, shares a lot of DNA with “Beds are Burning” and will be a call and response staple on the festival circuit this year. If there is a festival circuit this year, that is. There are no throwaway tunes on this one. “Zombie Train” may be the weakest of the lot, not surprising given the song title, but beyond that, this album is a real page-turner. Stay with all nine minutes of “The Fall of America” churning, burning apocalypse-blues plays as legit at it can get.

Album of the Day: Richard Davies & The Dissidents – Human Traffic

Richard Davies & The Dissidents – Human Traffic (3 out of 5)

There is no rocket science being studied here with Richard Davies and his band of dissidents on this his debut solo record, but none the less, there are plenty of sweet sounds to sink your ears into. The template that is thrown down here on Human Traffic is no-nonsense, straight forward, Brinsley Schwartz Pub Rock and Roll. Cutting his guitar teeth as a guitar slinger sideman for the likes of Peter Perrett and Glen Matlock as well as with his own band The Snakes, Davies more than holds his own with a solid set of self-penned tunes and to add to the coolness factor “Heartbeat Smile,” an Alejandro Escovedo cover song is thrown in for good measure admirably performed with a Post-Punk flair.

With “21st Century Man” sounding like a new wave Tom Petty, and (“Long Road) To Your Heart” carrying a Billy Idol meets Greg Kihn mojo-sound, there is enough sonic diversity to keep things interesting and to warrant several more trips to the musical well.

 

 

Album of the Day: Marker Starling – High January

 

Marker Starling – High January (3.5 out of 5)

There is a certain ’70s singer-songwriter pathos to just about every song on this latest release from Marker Starling, also known as keyboardist vocalist Chris A. Cummings. The stark and enveloping Bedroom Pop on this record not only transforms you into a bubble of butterfly ribbons but also lays you down in a field of Steely Dan and Todd Rundgren influenced musical Nuggets. “Starved For Glamour” could have been on a deluxe edition of Aja, and “A Little Joy” is tailor-made for inclusion on an early-era America record. Produced by Sean O’Hagen of The High Llamas, High January is a fully formed full-band affair giving the proceedings a warm feeling made, even more, intoxicating with the presence of Laetitia Sadler classing up the joint on guest vocals.

The song structures and the use of vintage instruments in the production process only prove to enhance the vintage AOR vibe of the record. If anything is wrong with this album it would be the sameness that starts to creep in around the twenty-minute mark or so. The vocals aren’t overly active, maintaining the same mellowness for most of the 34 minutes. But, if you are looking for a kick-back sort of listening experience while you knock down a couple of Bombay Saphire martinis then this just might be your escapist jam.

Album of the Day: Michael Parrett – Influence This

Michael Parrett – Influence This (5 out of 5)

With Luke Spiller and his band, the Struts, relaxing in that between album no man’s land, Adam Lambert performing brilliantly filling in for Freddie Mercury, not so much so with his solo efforts, Scissor Sisters Jake Shears MIA for the last couple of years, and The Biters Tuk Smith trying to get his Mojo back after having to dissolve his band, it is quite understandable that in theses pandemic funky feeling days that one could be left to wonder where the next Marc Bolan Ziggy Stardust is coming from.

Well, the question asked, question answered. The man to put the Glam in Wham Glam, Thank You, Ma’am, is Michael Parrett courtesy of his latest highly excellent slice of wax, Influence This. The swaggering heir apparent of the London Glam and Psychedelic Rock scene, this debut release takes no prisoners with its genre-bending Austin Powers Mojo display of ’60’s Donovan spirit love, Marc Bolan with a better driver metal guru guitar prowess, Suzi Quatro swagger, and Garage Rock rambunctious innocence.

The highlights here are, really, too many to mention, but we will give it a go. “Checkbook Charlie” is a guitar-laden propulsive Mojo-Rockin’ epic gem of a song in the Flamin’ Groovies mold, “Last Years Model is The Struts meets Love, and “Tattoos and Whiskey” carries a Tremolos by way of Ty Segall energy, and “Bad For You” is classic England’s Latest Hitmakers Rolling Stones in all its retro glory.  And, let’s not forget “Sugar Lover” a song that is on a planet all its own.

Album of the year? Let’s give it time to marinate a bit, but damn this is a fantastic debut effort from a force to be reckoned with.