J. Roddy Walston and the Business
(Vagrant)
J. Roddy and his crew clearly stopped listening to music sometime around the late ‘70s and that's a beautiful thing. The Baltimore - by way of Tennessee - group mixes Jerry Lee Lewis Boogie Woogie piano, with Beach Boy harmonies and lead vocals that owe just as much to cigarettes and whiskey as they do to Classic Rock. The band's second full length, includes a few reworked holdovers from earlier efforts ("Used to Did," "Don't Get Old," and "Break the Needle" ), but all is forgiven seeing as how their self-released EP and full length never really got the massive attention this band clearly deserves.
J. Roddy Walston and the Business sound nothing like the joyless sonic mumblings that's been passing itself off as Indie rock these past few years, but rather reveals in Southern rock guitar solos, thundering drum beats, and sing-along choruses made for packed, sweaty clubs and car radios everywhere.
If Tom Petty or Springsteen are interested in taking a few years off, J. Roddy and the boys can certainly pick up the slack for awhile.
DOWNLOAD: "Don't Break the Needle," and "Brave Man's Death" JOHN B. MOORE
