By Artist Scattergun Life at Fantasy Lounge
Life at Fantasy Lounge
Sunday, 24 January 2010 13:53 | 
Author: The Grouch | 
Scattergun is the name of a band out of St. Charles Illinois.
They just released their debut album on their own label Mile Long Records. The name of the album is Life at the Fantasy Lounge.
So what kind of music is this? According to their press kit they see themselves as Wilco meets Tom Petty. I like Tom Petty.
According to me I'd say they are a lot like The Band and Bob Dylan when he went electric except the singer, Jeff Falk has a much much better voice than Dylan. Throw in the best parts of the Smithereens and you are getting close.
In a nutshell, I like these guys. Their music has a mellow soul to it. The players are all good in an unpretentious way – there are no blistering solos (make no mistake guitarist Michael Paeth has some chops but Slash he ain't) , the drummer doesn't do any bass rolls. There are twelve solid basic rock and roll songs that will bring a smile to your face if you remember the 1970s. This is music to burn one by. I could see some of these songs used in a blue collar coming of age movie – tracks 5 Killing the Cure and 6 Tom Waits' Boots come to mind.
My favorite song on the album is track 8 Hotel Pillow. This is a country infused soulful jam of heartache and frustration. I like the mellow groove of the rhythm section as the guitar and keys take turns grinding out emotion. The singer's voice sounds great – even the falsetto part didn't bother me. This is followed by a close second to to the last track 30 Pieces which features some really nice guitar work.
So what's the bottom line? Would I recommend this album? Yes. I like his voice and dig the band's vibe. These guys are a very good bar band.
Grouch rating 3 and ½ scowls. Check them out at scattergunrocks.com