Rye Coalition: On Top

Ouch! And to add to the damage, Rye Coalition's guitar demolition packs quite a wallop. The quintet is, at heart, a tease, presenting neo-Seventies schlock 'n' roll complete with titles like "Stairway to the Freebird on the Way to the Smokey Water," and boasting more referential riffs than your standard K-tel comp-o-rama. Still, it's with enough hip-swingin', mic-twirlin' moxie that Rye Coalition remains refreshingly modern. So pay no attention to what some cynic with a computer tells you about rock's imminent revival. Just take one listen to the seven-minute working-man blues of "Freshly Frankness" ("You're my ball and chain, bay-bee," howls Cuseglio like a coyote in heat), and witness the uprising behind the followup, "Vacations." "Hey man," the artist asks in the latter. "You want some of this?" Answer: Oh, yes. Can we have round two?