Imagine if Limbeck and My Morning Jacket got together for a jam session and you'll be close to how Stateside sounds. Hailing from Tennessee, frontman John Paul Keith has played with heart-throb Ryan Adams, played in The Nevers, and co-founded The V-Roys. Sure the latter you probably know nothing about(shit, neither do I) but you get the point.
Phonograph is 11 tracks of classic rock tinged, indie-country. The record kicks off with "Fool on a Wire" that harnesses the description from the beginning paragraph. The tempo is upbeat in a very Limbeck-ish way, the horns are swinging in a My Morning Jacket-esque tone, and everyone is having a good time. In songs such as "Time Time Time," elements of The Rolling Stones are very apparent, particularly in the vocals.
This CD has a little bit of a problem with variation. It has more balls out rocking tunes towards the beginning but the songs become more ballad-like as the record goes on and it only looks back for a split second. The last two songs are very slow numbers that might have you shutting off the CD prematurely. Not to say they are bad tunes, but it just comes off as a pretty boring, anti-climatic ending for the disc.
All in all, Phonograph isn't bad, but isn't anything to go nuts over. Good disc for the summer whilst playing a game of drunken wiffle ball or jumping through sprinklers.
