One You Should Know: J Roddy Walston & the Business

In honor of the madness for which this month is known, I thought I'd break with the tradition of the past few years and post something outside the year in review.  And to double the insanity I thought I'd dust off one of my favorite old formats, the titular form meant to showcase bands that are too good to ignore anymore and come with a helpful setlist highlighting the best the band can do.

The band good enough to make me break my vow of silence is the fantastic four piece from Baltimore (by way of Chattanooga) J Roddy Walston & the Business. Harnessing the chicken-fried vibe of their former environs while armoring it with the no-nonsense attitude of their current home, these guys bowl you over like a pissed off biker at a honkytonk.  I had the pleasure of catching them live last month and probably would have liked them anyway, for not only was the concert free, but the BEER was too. (Thanks, Lagunitas!)  Thankfully these guys seemed even more determined to wow as a result, and they definitely got folks to shut up and start moving during a positively blistering set. (Prompting some in the crowd to even start circle dancing around folks like mildly inebriated predators.)

Whether you get to see them live or not (and if given the option I highly recommend you do), it's easy to see why these guys have earned such a rabid following -- a point hopefully evidenced by the selections below.  The band is three albums in at this point, and they've sharpened their attack to near lethal effect from 2007's Hail Mega Boys.  That album was a more straightforward mix of Southern rock and shambling piano -- which is not to intimate it was simple.  Songs like "Rock and Roll the Second," "Go For It," and "Used to Did" (among the others below) all had you reaching for the volume and bellowing along.

This year's release, Essential Tremors -- to say nothing of their near flawless self-titled album in between -- unleashed something different, though.  There's still the irresistible alchemy of barroom blues and Zeppelin-style riffs and swagger, but they've concentrated it to such a degree it's potent enough to liquidate your brain at times. There are plenty of examples, lots of them in the below -- "Caroline," "Brave Man's Death," and top two favorite "Pigs and Pearls" represent the former, belt them to the rafters barnburners, while "Don't Break the Needle," "Don't Get Old," and "Sweat Shock" (among so many others) showcase the latter, blow out your speakers and maybe start a fist fight (or start circle dancing) ragers.

Nothing does it better than "Heavy Bells," though -- a perfect distillation of both categories that is so good it snaps something in your brain and makes you a maniac damn near every time you hear it.  It's a song that's honestly so good I can't say enough positive things about it, but am also reluctant to talk about it for fear of ruining it forever.  Suffice it to say it blew my brain apart the first time I heard it and made me a J Roddy acolyte instantly (and it made a room full of grownups lose their fucking MINDS when they played it live last month).  So hopefully you'll find it to your liking.

It -- and the rest of the Business' best (five from each of their three albums) -- are arranged for your enjoyment below:

J Roddy Walston & the Business --

1. Don't Break the Needle (J Roddy Walston & the Business)
2. Marigold (Essential Tremors)
3. Used to Did (Hail Mega Boys)
4. Heavy Bells (Essential Tremors)
5. Sweat Shock (Essential Tremors)
6. Don't Get Old (J Roddy Walston & the Business)
7. I'll Tell You What (Hail Mega Boys)
8. Take it as it Comes (Essential Tremors)
9. Nineteen Ought Four (Hail Mega Boys)
10. Midnight Cry (Essential Tremors)
11. Brave Man's Death (J Roddy Walston & the Business)
12. Caroline (J Roddy Walston & the Business)
13. Go Malachi (Hail Mega Boys)
14. Sally Bangs (Hail Mega Boys)
15. Pigs & Pearls (J Roddy Walston & the Business) 

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One other treat before I run out again for who knows how long. As if the aforementioned Roddy concert wasn't good enough (did I mention the free beer? I mean c'mon, people!), I also was treated to a great discovery with the opening act, Low Cut Connie, whose boozy mix of shambling piano, howling group vocals, and vintage rock and roll was enough to wow even without all the other pluses that night. Their 2012 album, Call Me Sylvia, is a fun medley of the above, showcasing the band's rotating arsenal of vocalists and sounds.  There's the Buddy Holly vibe of tracks like "Brand New Cadillac," the surfer rock of "Don't Cry Baby Blue," the Meters/Dirtbombs funk of "Pity Party," and the glammy punch of the title track.

Lead single "Boozophilia" is the best among equals, though, a high energy romp from Philly to my beloved city by the lake that'll have you singing along with the boys in no time.  Check it (and the album writ large) out here: