The Next Big Thing

Onetime Raunch Hand and erstwhile Devil Dog (not to mention his brief tenure as an A-Bone), Mike Mariconda is back with THE STEPBROTHERS. Take equal parts anglo-verging on pub rock, a quasi-glam streak and a whole quart of soul and you're getting a beat on what "Baby It's Over" entails. The opener ("Very Last Time") recalls Status Quo's "Caroline" and folks outside of the UK may well wonder why that would matter. Well that group is something of an institution here and that might cloud the issue in some would-be hipsters books. I saw the Quo in their heyday many times and am not ashamed to admit a softspot for their daft boogie antics. Supreme drinking music, The 'brothers shimmy in no uncertain fashion with a "Faces"-type abandon. I can't recall exactly, but I think it's "Baby It's Over" that sounds like Stevie Winwood dishing up J'taime in a Booker T stylee. (I don't have the record to hand as I type...) Rod Stewart should make a record with these guys instead of trotting out those lame "standards". It'd make ol' John Peel smile, I'm sure. They've dragged that 60's beat frenzy bang into the 21st century, losing zip in the ramshackle translation.

A fine debut then, which lives up to the promise of their cut on Shakin' In My Boots (also on Licorice Tree). If you've seen 'em live, let me know if they're as smokin' as this suggests they be. Nice silk screened cover insert too fellas...