Anyone who claims that rock and roll isn’t what it used to be clearly hasn’t heard of these stunning musicians. Whiskey N’ Rye, roar with their unique fusion of roots, hard edge rock and Americana. Probably the most compelling quality of this band is how seamlessly they stay true to a pure, old school sound while keeping their music relevant to today’s listeners.
Whiskey N’ Rye is a roots-rock band in Seattle, who formed in 2013 behind the eponymously-titled “Whiskey N’ Rye” debut album written by singer/songwriter Philip Lindholm, and includes three graduates from the Berklee School of Music who headed west after graduation. The band is currently made up of Philip Lindholm: Vox & Guitar, Colin McLaurin: Drums, Josh Tvrdy: Guitar, Nolan Watt: Bass and Marco Longo: Keys.
Whiskey N’ Rye is great to clean to, listen while drinking coffee, cruising on the road, or hanging out with friends at a party. The rich vocals and from the gut playing, will remind you of a past somewhat lost, but longed for in our reincarnations of the musical eras that came before us.
It was with some trepidation that I played the album for the first time. Was this going to be just another indie rock band that had one great song but not much else? One listen was enough to get an answer: Clearly not. Yes, most of the attention is on the singer. Philip Lindholm is terrific, but make no mistake, this is a real, very tight band.
Considering the constant stream of drivel that the pop music market offers us, this is honest American rock music with soul. The band is stellar and the songs are phenomenal, just take a listen to standouts “Bootlegger”, “Until The End”, “All I Ask”, “Come Back Home”, “Rebel Man Pt.1” and “Rebel Man Pt.2”.
There is no doubt that this album is a winner on many levels. Philip’s voice grabs you by the short and curlies and doesn’t let you go until the end of this intense 10-track sonic blast. These folks are not one-trick ponies. To be honest I’m almost surprised that this band is not receiving the press they deserve. But then again, their sound is just so far on the opposite end of the music spectrum from the majority of Autotuned releases today, that I expect to see them fly fiercely under the radar for a while.
The album is great, not a bad song on it. All parts of a song, not just a good guitar solo or catchy vocal hook, are what makes really good music and Whiskey N’ Rye definitely show their talent for building great music in this album.
Whiskey N’ Rye offers a rich Americana sound beyond the pop slog that is on the radio today. Enjoy the whole album!
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