BANDS:

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

Colonel Rhodes: This Is Public
[The Record Machine]

Nashville has seeped its way into Illinois. Champaign-Urbanas Colonel Rhodes spews the South into the Midwest with its debut EP, This is Public.

The Colonel marches confidently down the paths cut by trailblazers like Whiskeytown and Old 97s and trail-followers like Sister Hazel and Virginia Coalition. Ignoring the broody (and skipable) In the Movies, the five tracks consistently comprise key country ingredients: a little twang and a lotta geetar. The ironically named opener Setting Sun kicks off the alt-country cavalcade with just that, immediately displaying the bands liveliness and guitarist Robert Hirschfelds exceptional solo skills.

Easily the catchiest song on the album, Normal Boy also follows this formula, adding tambourine for extra bop. But as the lyrics indicate, Colonel Rhodes is not just a normal band from normal Illinois. Setting the group apart from its aforementioned colleagues in the alt-country realm is the presence of female vocalist Elizabeth Holt. She and lead singer Seth Hubbard duet for the majority of the album, providing harmonies that, while strong, become grating at times and lessen the believability of first-person narratives. Its difficult to accept a line like Maybe Im just lonely when sung by a couple.

But with much of the lyrical content focusing on barhopping and boozing, its possible that Colonel Rhodes doesnt care to make it personal. This is a band best suited for drinking all night with your friends, as explicitly explained in the excellent Saint Paul, and yall dont even have to venture down South to do it.

Colonel Rhodes Official Website

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

More Album Reviews

About LOTD        Contact/Staff        Advertise        Home

All content  LEFT OFF THE DIAL 2001-2005. All rights reserved.