Formerly part of Ohio rock outfit Buffalo Killers and sometimes tour members with The Black Keys, siblings Zachary and Andrew, The Gabbard Brothers, have re-emerged with a new name, a new label and an album that waves the flag for 60s psychedelic tinged pop rock with influences that range from Neil Young and The Beatles to The Everlys, The Turtles, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and James Gang.
It opens as it intends to proceed with the short, sweet, hooks-laden harmony pop of ‘Hang On, Mama’, proceeding into some fuzzy guitar work for ‘Feel Better Love Better’ with its chugging riff and repeated title refrain before ‘Pockets Of Your Mind’ recalls the 60s folkpop of PF Sloan and The Grassroots. ‘Little Mama’ is a more rocking number with stabbing organ and thoughts of Lennon (or maybe Jeff Lynn circa The Idle Race) tinged with some Brian Wilson, while ‘Said Too Much’ nods to the walking beat acid-folk of The Velvets.
‘Hazard KY Bluegrass Grandma’ is rather more harmony folk-pop than the trippy title might suggest while, in classic Evs style, Early Pages is the album’s biggest earworm as they sing “I keep on tearing out the early pages every time I go back to the book, I keep on tearing out the early pages cause it’s hard to look”. Riding a Dylanish organ line, ‘Yer A Rockstar’ is built for open top highway cruising, ‘Gimme Some Of That’ delivers the heavy swaggery southern funk it promises, ‘Easter’s Child’ is country-fried rock in a Grateful Dead meet early Eagles vibe with a delayed calliope outro and it all ends with the Beatlesesque slurred psychedelia of ‘Lay Down’.
Aimed very much at the retro nostalgia target audience while offering enough to pull in fans of their previous band, The Gabbard Brothers won’t make any major waves, but it’s an ideal jangling soundtrack to the summer.
Mike Davies
Artists’ website: www.facebook.com/gabbardbros
‘Little Mama’ – official video:
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