Release Radar: Blues Lawyer 'Sight Gags On The Radio' EP
The SF-based band continue their incredible year with a new EP
Good Morning!
Today we’re listening to Blues Lawyer’s new EP ‘Sight Gags On The Radio’
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This past spring, Blues Lawyer released All In Good Time, a record I consider to be one of the Albums of the year.
Writing about the LP’s opener, “Chance Encounters,” I described the band’s sound as:
… a much fuller sound than on their previous two releases, with the hallmark melodies front and center. It manages to be a little more raucous and polished all at once.
It’s easy to sail full steam ahead into an iceberg of reductive writing when describing a band like this— “Indie” and “jangly” make for easy copy. But Blues Lawyer really does evoke a very specific vein of 90s pop.
In the months since then, singer/songwriter Rob I. Miller put out a solo record (with help from Blues Lawyer guitarist Ellen Matthews). Now the two find themselves back with drummer/co-singer Elyse Schrock and return with Sight Gags On the Radio, an EP the band managed to sneak in right before heading overseas for a tour of the UK.
Pressed for time—both because of the tour and Schrock’s impending move up I-5 to Portland—the four tracks were recorded in just one afternoon in the band’s rehearsal space. Miller did double duty, covering the bass parts as regular bassist Alejandra Alcala was unable to make the session.
That said, this doesn’t have the feel of something dashed off as the band headed out the door for the airport, though. Where All In Good Time saw the band embracing jangle pop, here they go all in on a fuzzier sound they’d only hinted at earlier. The first track, “Have Nots,” is a driving bit of pop perfection and a killer opener.
The rest of the EP is just as strong. “True Love’s Only Name” might be the song stylistically closest to All Good Things In Time, but it also shows the band’s progress as songwriters—and collaborators, with all 3 band members contributing. Matthews wrote the music, Miller wrote the lyrics, and Schrock sang them.
Closer “Every Once In A While” wraps things up on a strong note.
It’s not often that a band bookends a year with two strong outings, but with All In Good Time and now Sight Gags On the Radio, Blues Lawyer have done just that.
Listen:
Blues Lawyer | Sight Gags On The Radio (EP) 2023
Click the record to listen on the platform of your choice.
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this track!
One last thing:
I recently had the opportunity to work with
where we dissected my Spoitfy listening history, looking for stories in the data.Last week, Chris wrote a fantastic/informative piece on the state of the TV theme in an era of streaming and invited me to recommend a couple of songs as part of it.
“On Netflix in a typical day, the Skip Intro button is pressed 136 million times, saving members an astonishing 195 years in cumulative time!”
If you haven’t yet had a chance to check it out, it’s well worth your time!
Thanks for being here,
Kevin—
This reminds me again that I need to give that album a listen. So much music to listen to!
Thanks for the tip - I especially like the new EP but need to give the LP a focused listen.