The Record Company – Give It Back To You (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/48 kHz | Time – 39:55 minutes | 520 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | Digital Booklet | © Concord Records
The rock/roots trio of Chris Vos (guitar, lead vocals, harmonica), Alex Stiff (bass, guitar, vocals) and Marc Cazorla (drums, piano, vocals) has already been hailed by LA Weekly for “making bluesy music that would sound more at home in a sweaty, backwoods Mississippi juke joint,” while Time Out Los Angeles has described their sound as “reminiscent of some of the best acts of the ’50s and ’60s—like if John Lee Hooker and the Stooges had a well-behaved love child.”Give It Back To You is The Record Company’s debut album under Concord Records.
To hear them tell it, the Record Company came together when three musician friends started hanging out once a week to drink beer and listen to vintage blues recordings they’d found at used record stores, swap meets, and the like. Judging from the group’s debut album, the guys in the Record Company probably have plenty of great stuff in their LP stacks; Give It Back to You boasts a casual but muscular tone that’s part Southern groove (think Jimmy Reed and Slim Harpo) and part Chess Records bite (Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Bo Diddley), with a dash of the Black Keys’ rootsy modernism thrown in for good measure. The Record Company know good music from bad, and they have chops to go along with their taste — Chris Vos’ guitar work is strong and well focused, while his voice is well suited to the material, and bassist Alex Stiff and drummer Marc Cazorla are an admirably tight and hard-grooving rhythm section who know how to make this kind of music move. However, one thing that separates the Record Company from their influences is their songwriting — while there are a few gems here like the moody “This Crooked City” and the lean and funky “Off the Ground,” there seem to be more clichés than inspired moments in this batch of tunes, and for a band that seems to be striving for a raw and retro sound, Give It Back to You never sounds as dirty or sweaty as it needs to be. Ultimately, this album makes the Record Company sound like guys who learned all they know about the blues from records, and while they’re said to be a powerful live act, they need to bring more of that passion and fire into the studio when they make their second album. ~~ AllMusic Review by Mark Deming
Tracklist:
1. Off The Ground 04:15
2. Don’t Let Me Get Lonely 02:34
3. Rita Mae Young 04:22
4. On The Move 04:09
5. Hard Day Coming Down 03:58
6. Feels So Good 03:58
7. Turn Me Loose 03:22
8. Give It Back To You 03:52
9. This Crooked City 04:36
10. In The Mood For You 04:49
Chris Vos, guitar, lead vocals, harmonica
Alex Stiff, bass, guitar, vocals
Marc Cazorla, drums, piano, vocals
Additional Vocals: Maesa Pullman, Rosa Pullman – vocals on “This Crooked City”
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