Motel La Grange

構成数 : 1
合計収録時間 : 00:00:00
Existing in one form or another since 2009, Sean Walsh's Americana combo the National Reserve have been kicking around Brooklyn, evolving their strain of rugged, heartfelt rock & roll. In the years following their 2015 EP, Easy Does It, they've set up shop at a handful of local venues, playing a series of residencies to sharpen their live skills and workshop new material in advance of their full-length debut for the Ramseur label. With Motel La Grange, Walsh and his crew strike an easy balance between earthy '70s country-rock, earnest balladry, and rowdy bar band energy. It's the latter of those attributes represented in the raucous opener, "No More," and while they can do high-energy roots rock with plenty of swagger, the National Reserve are at their best on more nuanced cuts that show off Walsh's solid songwriting chops over his whiskey-shredded voice. Highlights like the breezy accordion-adorned "Don't Be Unkind" and the folky harmony-stacked closer, "Roll on Babe," live very comfortably in the worlds of Eagles-style West Coast rock and '60s Laurel Canyon songwriting from which Walsh seems to draw his power. Another standout, "Standing on the Corner," melds the group's hard-won bar band chops with a crafty bit of darkly tuneful rock songcraft from its leader. It's a familiar sound, rooted in past masters and comfortable tropes, but the National Reserve have a strong command of what makes classic American rock so appealing, and they deliver the goods more often than not. ~ Timothy Monger