Member Since: 7/11/2006
Band Website: cdbaby.com/cd/road
Band Members: Eric Payne, Conor Dowling, Joan Dyer Payne, Greg Eramo, Sven Huggins.......
Influences: Wilco,Fugazi, Allman Brothers, Gang of Four, Donovan, Black Sabath, Kinks, Talking Heads, Clash, Sebadoh, Beatles, XTC, Led Zepplin, Beth Orton, Liz Phair, Little Feat, Black Flag, Bob Marley, Commadors, Earth wind and Fire, Tim Hardin, Janes Addiction, Pearl Jam, James Brown, Elvis Costello, Ween, BSS, Chambers Brothers, Marshall Tucker, Nick Drake, Janis Joplin, Queen, ZZ Top, The Gap Band, The Beasty Boys, Beck..and more
Sounds Like:Famous Pants
(Merry Go Records)
Thursday, December 28, 2006
By Casey HaymanIn reviewing an album, one of the simplest ways to describe an artist's sound to your audience is by comparing them to existing well-known groups. Lazy? Sometimes, but when the comparisons are apt, it makes sense.Occasionally, though, you find a band or album that's not easy to compare to any existing group you know. Road, for me, is such a band, and their self-titled debut LP is such an album. I guess the best I can do is Yo La Tengo meets Ween. Helpful? Probably not. So, let's just call it spacey garage electro-pop and leave it at that.Either way, the point is that Road has a distinctly original sound, and it's exceptionally fun and intriguing to listen to. The band is the brainchild of Eric Payne, the group's main songwriter, but includes contributors Conor Dowling, Joan Cameron Dyer Payne, Sven Higgins and Valley all-star producer and multi-instrumentalist Jim Weeks.The album is a synthy, reverbed-out oddity that treads that dangerously thin line between lush orchestration and overproduction, but it comes out on the right side almost every time.Required listening? Check out the tripped-out slow jam "Photographic Memories" and the funky "Motor." But enough attempts at classification; just give Road a listen. If you like strange, beautiful things, you'll enjoy the ride.©2006 The Republican© 2006 MassLive.com All Rights Reserved.
Type of Label: None