The story goes that Tom Petty first saw The Shelters in a club and took a liking to them, showing them to his home studio and letting them mess around with things and showing them what he thought they could be. Viewed through the lens of a “guitar pop record that Tom Petty would encourage somebody to make,” The Shelters’ debut makes a lot of sense.

And it’s not to say that the band’s style eliminates the possibility of them working on original material. Songs like Birdwatching, Surely Burn, and Down deviate from the script, taking some influence from 70s punk and the grunge scene.

I’m quite partial to Nothin’ in the World Can Stop Me Worryin’ ‘Bout That Girl, which feels like an old-time blues track combined with an oddball White Stripes moment. The tracks like that on this record are obsessively fun.

What makes the whole album work, more than some people might suggest when they call it a throwback, is the way they bring together an obvious reverence for the past with a modern sense of groove and motion, giving the sound an update for the modern era without alienation fans of that old-style rock and roll.

The Shelters won’t be loved by everybody, but it feels like a band that many of us can at least appreciate. For a debut, it’s impressive. And although it doesn’t play with too many new ideas, it makes me believe that The Shelters have a few — and I’m excited to hear them sometime down the line.

The post The Shelters: The Shelters appeared first on Unsung Sundays.

The amount of all these influences is a debut album that refuses to allow the band to be labeled as anything other than effective rock and roll. Get Gone is filled with one stomping rock track after the other, a vivacious and vicious set of tracks that refuses to conform to expectations.

The anthems, in particular, are quite impressive: short, punk-y bursts of energy that are occasionally punctuated by guitar solos that aren’t indulgent so much as amplify the tune.

The best tracks are the deep cuts: AJ Hayne letting loose on Kingdom Come is one of the album’s biggest treats, and the guitar solo is one of the album’s best. It’s not a single, but it would be a ton of fun live. It’s unusual, imaginative riff is a great introduction to the Seratones sound: unpredictable roots-rock that’s unafraid to shy away from its own genre in effort to diversity its sound.

The post Seratones: Get Gone appeared first on Unsung Sundays.

These guys are old school, blues-infused rock’n’roll. Really, if it weren’t for some of the foul language, your mother wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between this record and Chuck Berry’s On Top. It’s an immensely entertaining record from start to finish, with homages to the old school everywhere and some of the best guitar noodling out there.

Two things are pretty clear: Black Joe Lewis loves blues music and rock’n’roll, and Black Joe Lewis believes in the almighty guitar riff. If there was ever a hidden gem in modern rock music then, a guy that could consistently hit you beneath the belts, right where it hurts, right where you feel it, Black Joe Lewis is that guy. Don’t miss this record if you like your rock delivered with a little soul.

The post Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears: Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is! appeared first on Unsung Sundays.

It’s hard to be in a bad mood when you listen to this soundtrack.Alexandre Desplat’s original score is excellent, as always, (he’s also behind the beautiful Curious Case of Benjamin Button soundtrack, which is one of the best parts of that film), but it’s also got a smattering of classic tracks from groups like The Wellingtons and The Beach Boys.

Anderson has a good ear and he goes for deep cuts. For example, one of the album’s last tracks is Ol’ Man River (by The Beach Boys) — certainly not a well-known piece, but most definitely a beautiful one. The album also sheds a little bit of light on the idea that every band from that period sounded like The Beach Boys or The Beatles — look no further than Let Her Dance, by Bobby Fuller Four, for that.

Fantastic Mr. Fox collects beautiful classical, blues, and jazz touches too — Art Tatum’s Night and Day makes a surprise appearance. And, of course, you can never go wrong with Street Fighting Man by The Rolling Stones. Looking for a pick-me-upper for your Monday blues? The Fantastic Mr. Fox Soundtrack is a great place to start.

The post Various Artists: Fantastic Mr. Fox Soundtrack appeared first on Unsung Sundays.

Of course, if the record was all ball-breaking, that’d be one hell of an assault on the ears. Thankfully, Black Joe Lewis knows how to mix things up and tracks like Come to My Party, a rock track with a groove if I’ve ever heard one, keep things interesting. Really, that’s revealing of the diversity of Black Joe Lewis’ influences. One minute, he’s shredding through back-breaking rock ‘n’ roll, and the next, he’s proving he listened to more than his fair share of The Ramones growing up on The Hipster (which I think is better than most of the stuff The Ramones put out).

Arguably, the second half of the album is better than first. Standouts like Make Dat Money and Mammas Queen are worth coming back to again and again. This is 2013 rock music done right.

The post Black Joe Lewis: Electric Slave appeared first on Unsung Sundays.