The National Reserve - Motel La Grange (2018)

Existing in one form or another since 2009, Sean Walsh's Americana combo the National Reserve have been kicking around Brooklyn, evolving their strain of rugged, heartfelt rock & roll. In the years following their 2015 EP, Easy Does It, they've set up shop at a handful of local venues, playing a series of residencies to sharpen their live skills and workshop new material in advance of their full-length debut for the Ramseur label. With Motel La Grange, Walsh and his crew strike an easy balance between earthy '70s country-rock, earnest balladry, and rowdy bar band energy. It's the latter of those attributes represented in the raucous opener, "No More," and while they can do high-energy roots rock with plenty of swagger, the National Reserve are at their best on more nuanced cuts that show off Walsh's solid songwriting chops over his whiskey-shredded voice. Highlights like the breezy accordion-adorned "Don't Be Unkind" and the folky harmony-stacked closer, "Roll on Babe," live very comfortably in the worlds of Eagles-style West Coast rock and '60s Laurel Canyon songwriting from which Walsh seems to draw his power. Another standout, "Standing on the Corner," melds the group's hard-won bar band chops with a crafty bit of darkly tuneful rock songcraft from its leader. It's a familiar sound, rooted in past masters and comfortable tropes, but the National Reserve have a strong command of what makes classic American rock so appealing, and they deliver the goods more often than not.

Tracklist:
1/10. The National Reserve - No More
2/10. The National Reserve - Big Bright Light
3/10. The National Reserve - Found Me a Woman
4/10. The National Reserve - Don't Be Unkind
5/10. The National Reserve - Other Side of Love
6/10. The National Reserve - Standing on the Corner
7/10. The National Reserve - New Love
8/10. The National Reserve - Motel La Grange
9/10. The National Reserve - I'll Go Blind
10/10. The National Reserve - Roll on Babe