The Redwalls - De Nova

Everything about The Redwalls screams classic rock and roll. From album photos depicting the band’s use of vintage instruments to drummer Ben Greeno’s well-executed backbeats, the Chicago quartet serve to remind listeners of a time when rock music was the most rebellious aspect of youth culture. Unlike other retro revivalists who have come about recently, The Redwalls aren’t content simply to nod to the past but instead have immersed themselves in days gone by to mostly satisfying results. The band’s second album is a rock explosion that pays tribute to R&B influenced bands like The Kinks and The Rolling Stones. Frontman Logan Baren exhibits the vocal swagger necessary to call such bands to mind and the group is most successful when they seek to recapture the defiance of the late 1960’s. De Nova’s best track is “Falling Down,” a delightfully obscene argument for free speech. The group also shines on such raucous anti-establishment anthems as “It’s Alright” and “Rock & Roll,” which give credence to such fundamental behaviors of rock and roll as skipping school and dancing. The Redwalls have no trouble incorporating other elements from their period of influence into the songs on De Nova. Like some of the aforementioned bands, The Redwalls imbue several of their songs with blues and jazz timbres, most notably featuring the saxophone on the opener “Robinson Crusoe” and utilizing a soulful piano riff on “Build a Bridge.” The vocal harmonies and guitar tones of “Hung up on the Way I’m Feeling” recall some of the more psychedelic aspects of classic British rock. Unfortunately, one vintage element of rock the band has yet to master is that of brevity. The second half of De Nova seems to drag a bit as it fails to offer anything different from earlier tracks. Songs like “Front Page” and “Glory of War” attempt to evoke the social consciousness of classic rock but seem to have an over-inflated sense of purpose. If a few of these tracks had been pruned, the album would have been more powerful and well-rounded. Ultimately, De Nova is a promising look at a band that certainly knows where they came from and can hopefully focus the direction in which they’re going. [www.theredwalls.com]