Best ALBUM
Rustic Overtones, Light at the End
Sitting next to Tony McNaboe, nursing PBRs at a sparsely attended
open-mic night at Shay’s Bar and Grill, roughly this time last year, it
seemed like maybe this thing could work. Drummer McNaboe, who was the
first to leave Rustic Overtones in 2001, wanted to get the band back
together, I could tell, but he wouldn’t say the words. Maybe he didn’t
want to hope it could happen. And suddenly it was July and Rustic were
playing some of the greatest live shows this town has ever seen,
jamming the Asylum with fans old enough to remember when they were too
young to get into the clubs Rustic were playing and fans young enough
they couldn’t know about all that old Arista baggage the band still
carry around every once in a while. Dave Gutter wading out into the
crowd to sing his anti-war ode, “Dear Mr. President;” Spencer Albee
chiming in with corny jokes; a three-piece string section; Jay Ward,
Ryan Zoidis, and Dave Noyes deciding their three horns weren’t enough;
Jon Roods looking like he’d just found a $20 bill in the street. Those
shows just felt so fucking good.
Giving the lie to the band’s insistence that this was just a temporary thing, they’ve made Light at the End
into their latest label play, giving Velour a chance to help them
promote their latest incarnation. With big throwbacks like “Hardest Way
Possible” and “Rock Like War” and new wrinkles like “Troublesome” and a
title track that has grown their legend, the disc is the eight-man
rumble we’ve come to love and the nuanced construction this group of
vets has come to appreciate. Some of you had mourned their loss and
moved on — some of you thought you were finally rid of them — but none
of us knows what comes next. I’m looking forward to finding out.
— Sam Pfeifle
Album
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2. Steel Yourself, Sontiago
3. Tusks and a Moustache, Cosades
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