Hail Mega BoysJ Roddy Walston and the Business***1/2Genre: RockLabel: Southern Brethren
Matt WilsonDesign Co-editor
Don’t be skeptical of this album cover, with the band’s name and album title rendered in grade school doodles against a pistachio green background. The album art is less than stellar, but it belies the 43 minute bar romp that is Hail Mega Boys, the debut album from J Roddy Walston and the Business.
J Roddy Walston and the Business (Zach Westphal on bass, Billy Gordon on guitar, J Roddy on piano and guitar, and Steve the Sleave on drums) are clearly the product of their surroundings. Although based in Baltimore, J Roddy and the Business are originally from Tennessee, and listeners will hear it. “The Times Are A Staying,” its name a nod to Bob Dylan, begins with the strum of an acoustic guitar and is later joined by a honky-tonk electric guitar and banjo as Walston sings about ennui and “dreams that lie in bed.”
One of the highlights of the album, “Rock And Roll The Second,” has J Roddy passionately imploring the listener to “shake it (na na na).” Walston’s voice climbs to the top of the sound, often breaking into hoarse shouts backed by the rest of the band. After a driving piano breakdown, the riff from Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” bursts forth and melts the listener’s face off, if only for a brief few seconds.
Classic rock influences pop up left and right throughout this record. In “Nineteen Ought Four,” a fantastic piano-driven song about the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, the backing vocals are sung in Queen-style falsetto. “Used In Did” sounds like a Rolling Stones B-side, and “Stop Rip and Roll” is a rocker done in the style of Billy Joel. “Mommie Bomb,” despite its strange title, swells to epic rock proportions — piano and guitar swagger as Walston sings about “a bad case of the in-betweens,” and the guitar histrionics at the end satisfy.
The last track on the record strongly contrasts with the first 38 minutes. “Go Malachi” is a piano ballad about the alienation of a broken marriage. Walston pulls at the heart-strings as he sings about “being pushed to the outside” during the refrain. Walston paints a stark picture, but like Royal Tenenbaum or Kevin Spacey’s character from American Beauty, he finds consolation in freedom. Walston references the former film when he sings the line “Go Malachi” just before the chill-inducing final refrain. This song is unapologetically pretty, but it’s also unexpected on an otherwise upbeat rock album.
Walston’s only slight misstep is the odd “Sally Bangs,” a gospel-revival track that tells the story of a woman similar to the late Annna Nicole Smith. Sally’s promiscuous ways, she is warned, must be changed before she dies. The song ends, of course, when she marries an old man for his wealth and he subsequently dies. It’s not a bad song, but the chorus (“Sally, let your bangs hang down!”) is admittedly strange.
Hail Mega Boys is a refreshing record. So many ironic retro bands — The Strokes, The Darkness — seem to operate on the principle that classic rock is cheesy by nature, but that shouldn’t be. J Roddy Walston and the Business are reverent toward their influences, but at the same time, they’re still having fun. They’ve garnered some buzz for their energetic live shows, playing an encore despite being an opening band. That energy has been faithfully captured in the studio, and listeners can appreciate it. Interested in seeing J Roddy Walston and the Business live? They’ll be appearing at Tir Na Nog July 19 and Raleigh Downtown Live! August 11.
