BANDS:

Punk & Ska
80's New Wave/
Post-Punk/
College Bands
90's & Beyond
Virginia, North
Carolina, & DC

BBQ: Tie Your Nose
[Bomp!]

So if any of you out there have not caught on by now, I fully endorse anything Bomp! Records affiliated, as you all should do as well. Thanks to the great, and unfortunately recently late Mr. Greg Shaw, this label only gets better with age. In all truth though, it never really has soured in its 30 years of existence so I guess theyve maintained their rock cred for that long. If youre looking for anything thats true rock and grit or out-there garage, keep Bomp! as your home base.

This year brings us a release from Mark Sultans (Les Sexareenos, Spaceshits) one-man band, BBQ. Despite the curious name, theres nothing left to sit and think over once this album kicks into motion. Its a straightforward, honest, soulful, fun and just plain good album. Sultan brings out 50s frat rock and doowop sounds all by his lonesome and causes one helluva rocknroll racket. Maybe the ease and simplicity of his chosen band moniker is a direct reflection of what hes going for everything in his sound is laid out in front of the listener with no tricks or frills; its all simple and raw simply take it or leave it.

This album comes highly recommended and is fully worth the buy. Seriously. Do it. It was one of those very rare occasions in which I actually bought a vinyl copy for myself and then received a CD copy by mail to review not even a few weeks later. Gotta love that.

To delve into it a bit more and make it that much more enticing: the music is stomp-driven, 50s style guitar rock with what sounds like a small, battery-run overdrive, probably homemade at that. Sultan wears a tambourine on one of his drummin feet I would presume, so theres no letdown there. The vocals are a bit distant and fuzzed out and are as doowop as they get today, which is quite refreshing and nice to hear. This guy is well versed in his early rock and displays it amazingly well. The vocal melodies are great.

I found exactly what I was looking for in this album. For all you lo-fi lovin heart and soul garage rock collectors out there, this is definitely an album for you. Keep a close eye on this guy; I believe he has already released another album.

BBQ Official Website

Check Amazon, Insound and CD Universe to purchase this album.

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