Those Peabodys

Powerfully primitive riff rock utterly without pretense, the debut of Those Peabodys is a testament to the resiliency of the garage rock sensibility. Combining early Led Zeppelin punch with AC/DC strut and the cocky self-assurance of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, bassist Clarke Wilson and vocalist/guitarist Adam Hatley fire off a rapid succession of ten songs in 28 minutes. Finding themselves a few band members short at their recording sessions, Hatley was forced to man the drum kit himself, providing a more than competent backbeat that, while not flashy, is certainly in spirit with the material. While some tracks rely too heavily on one particular groove, and other tracks are almost comically over-amped, it's apparent that Wilson and Hatley don't take themselves too seriously. Whether yelling "Oh no!/What now?/Here comes the rock out!" at the end of "Too Quick," tributing the Dukes of Hazzard in the wah-wah drenched "Hazzard Co.," or screaming "I wanna be a Grand Ole Opry Star" in "Party at My House," Hatley confidently wraps his Chris Robinson-ish voice around a barrage of slightly irreverent references. No doubt, under even slightly different circumstances their whole garage dynamic could collapse on itself, but Those Peabodys are never anything less than gleefully overt about their intentions and ultimately succeed by serving up rock on their own terms.