Carbonatix Pre-Player Loader

Audio By Carbonatix

J. Roddy Walston & The Business mean business — searing, first-rate, old fashioned rock ’n’ roll business — but business nonetheless.

In a time when bands like The Hold Steady and The Parlor Mob are reminding us of what we miss about the golden age of rock, J. Roddy has offered up a wonderfully undemanding sacrifice to the gods of a bygone musical era.
Hail Mega Boys is a no-frills record, not a showcase for finely honed technique, a masterful producer or cleverly employed studio tricks. It’s just a good bar band doing what good bar bands do best. This unadorned approach exudes a raw intimacy in the same way it does when curling up on a rainy day with Iggy & The Stooges or The Boss and his boys.

“Rock and Roll II” is explosive with a barroom refrain that brings “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out” to mind in vintage technicolor. And the vaguely bluegrass-inspired track “Generic in Love” is an absolute treasure as the band mulls over its own distaste for romantic clichés.

This isn’t a band to wrestle with; in fact, bask in this record and enjoy it for no reason beyond its total lack of self-importance.

This article appears in November 5, 2008.

Do you have a news tip?

SEND A NEWS TIP

Subscribe to LEO Weekly Newsletters

Sign up. We hope you like us, but if you don't, you can unsubscribe by following the links in the email, or by dropping us a note at leo@leoweekly.com.

Signup

By clicking “subscribe” above, you consent to allow us to contact you via email, and store your information using our third-party Service Provider. To see more information about how your information is stored and privacy protected, visit our policies page.

Subscribe to LEO Weekly Newsletters

Sign up. We hope you like us, but if you don't, you can unsubscribe by following the links in the email, or by dropping us a note at leo@leoweekly.com.

To sign up now, enter your email address in the field below and click the Subscribe button.

By clicking “Subscribe” above, you consent to allow us to contact you via email, and store your information using our third-party Service Provider. To see more information about how your information is stored and privacy protected, visit our policies page.