The problem that so many rock bands have been suffering from lately is that they've forgotten how to have fun. At one time, rock was a silly little music genre which was lighthearted at its core, and interested in having fun above all – not making grand artistic statements. In listening to their third album, Essential Tremors, J. Roddy Walston and The Business seem to be asking when having fun started coming second to a ridiculous sense of artistic fulfillment – albeit in an indirect way; nine out of eleven songs lift licks and ideas from the likes of Cheap Trick, Nirvana, T. Rex, Ian Hunter and Grand Funk Railroad, mix them all together and pour the results out before listeners for them to examine.
In examining it, some critics will probably have fun overthinking Essential Tremors and calling it something ridiculous like “a fine and fascinating post-modernist impression of rock” but, really, the best way to really enjoy the music is to just take it for what it is: a fluffy, joyful noise.
From The moment “Heavy Bells” opens Essential Tremors, listeners will be presented with the image of J. Roddy Walston and The Business at their best and asked if they'll be able to handle it. Here, audio levels flutter very close to “peak position” and the guitars scald eardrums with a sound that is equal parts grunge, mod, and power pop (sort of like the best possible mix of Mudhoney, T. Rex, Ian Hunter and Cheap Trick), and they'll win anyone who still gets a tingle when they hear “I Want Me,” “Suck You Dry” or “Get It On” on the radio right away. Some critics who scoff and call the band irredeemably sophomoric (and there will be a few) need to lighten up; one listen in the right mindset will prove that it's both fluffy and rocky as hell, and 100% fun.
After “Heavy Bells” lets out, the same sort of lighthearted, dumb and goofy but fun vibe will continue to hold the willing dearly through the whole rest of the album. Standout tracks like “Marigold,” “Take It As It Comes,” “Black Light” and “Some Days” all appropriate ideas and licks from the classic rock songbook pretty unapologenically, but those who were already won by the band won't be turned away and the sounds are solid enough that those who criticize too hard will just get dismissed as stuffy humbugs. Because of that, the Business will find itself able to dodge every critical bullet launched at them, save one: the band's ballads are weak. More than that, the two ballads which appear on this album (“Nobody Knows” and “Boys Never Can Tell”) are wretched snoozers which are irredeemable – regardless of the spin put on them. Even in saying that though, listeners will still be able to simply curse and call them forgettable at worst when stacked as they are next to the fantastic guilty pleasures that Essential Tremors also offers.
Even in all the cursing and discrediting that listeners may do as they listen to Essential Tremors, they'll still find that they're unable to pull themselves away from the album at any point before “Midnight Cry” lets them go at record's close. Why? Well, because really – as trite and formulaic as it can be on occasion – Essential Tremors is a good record; if you're inclined to take it for what it is. Does saying that imply this writer has a guilty pleasure on his hands? Maybe….
Artist:
www.jroddywalstonandthebusiness.com/
www.myspace.com/jroddy
www.facebook.com/jroddywalston
www.twitter.com/JRoddyBusiness
Download:
J. Roddy Walston and The Business – Essential Tremors – “Heavy Bells” – [mp3]
Album:
Essential Tremors is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
