TAB THE BAND
"Long Weekend" (Professor
Vegas; 2008)
Reviewed by Metal Mike
This power trio has only been around since early 2007, but you wouldn’t know it by the manner in which they attack their songs. It took all of about, oh, a minute into the swirling, screaming opener, “Backseat Lover,” for me to realize that this band was going to be bringing some serious garage rock my way.
Indeed they keep it coming with an attack that has some basis in classic Rolling Stones, the WHO and early Aerosmith. Yet they take those influences and twist them in with a massive spinning array of charged-up blues, bouncing funk, grinding guitars and deep pounding beats. They don’t really give you time to catch your breath as the tracks are short and too the point because they don’t waste time on unnecessary build-up.
The style is very much based on late 1960s-early 1970s music, primarily garage rock and classic rock. However TAB the Band inject that particular sound with a healthy dose of adrenaline as they deliver all the soul and fire that was good about this type of music and they thrust it out there with pure grit and surging grooves. I am fond of the production, too, particularly on the drums because they catch all the little echoes and nuances in a sound that’s almost like being in the same room hearing them be played.
My only real gripe is that the whole album seemed to go by too fast and it left me wanting more.
For more information, check out http://www.tabtheband.com or http://www.myspace.com/tabtheband.
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.
Copyright © 2008 by R. Scott Bolton. All rights reserved.
