Premiere: Eldridge Rodriguez release Atrophy.

When this dropped in my Inbox to review, I almost passed it by, as I confess to never having heard of the artist before. A cursory glance at the accompanying press blurb, seemed to confirm my reservations as this is the bands 5^th album, and apparently “marks a turn for the group, veering away from the electro-rock and poli-power pop of their last two releases in favour of a slacker indie feel while still incorporating the noise pop feel that the band has leaned on for over a decade!”

I was intrigued by the fact these “Boston noise rock legends”, have released 4 albums already and never registered on my radar, so tentatively I clicked the link to the album stream and what unfolded in the proceeding 54 minutes was nothing short of beautiful. Once you get past the slightly disturbing cover artwork, the 12 songs exhibit that kind of American alt-rock, which The National and Band Of Horses have been wowing UK audiences with over the last decade.

A little background, if like me you’d never heard of Eldridge Rodriguez before. Firstly, there’s nobody by that name in the band. The band consists of two pairs of brothers, the Keibers, Cameron (guitar/vox) and Clayton (guitar), plus Dennis (drums) and Dave (Bass/keys) Grabowski.

Eldridge Rodriguez (L-R: Dave, Clayton, Cameron and Dennis – Pic Credit Tim Bugbee)

Originally intended as a catch-all for his musical projects, Cameron enlisted the aid of his brother and the Grabowski’s to help out in the studio and the live band took shape.

The band keep everything familial, with David owning Bluestone Studios, where it was recorded, engineering the album too and then the Keiber brothers releasing it on their own Midriff Records label.

However, the real comparison should be made with Buffalo Tom, as any fan of Bill Janovitz’s work would instantly embrace this like a long-lost brother. There’s also threads of UK indie legends Echo & The Bunnymen and Richard Ashcroft/Verve, running through tracks like Help Me Help Me and Dry Atlantis.

Without All Your Teeth You Can’t Get Into Heaven sees the band working with sweet and melodic jangle pop influences, furnishing the band’s song writing in celestial bells, organs, and honeyed guitar lines. As Dave Grabowski describes, “Like any good church song we tricked it out with a bell solo and an organ we found and tried to make it all gold and glossy like in actual heaven.”

Similarly, the track’s lyrics offer a tongue-in-cheek reflection on religion and materialism, with Keiber singing how without a perfect set of teeth, beautiful clothes, and an array of contacts, you’ll never get to heaven. Later he sings, “No matter how you try / Not to curse or tell a lie / The truth is when you die / You’ll need your things in heaven / The weight of your soul / Against what you stole.” Keiber simply says of the track, “Not in the history of human existence has a more self-explanatory song been written.”

Eldridge Rodriguez are:

Cameron Keiber- guitar, keys, vocals
David – bass, keys
Clayton Keiber- guitar
Dennis – drums, percussion

Atrophy is out today (15^th Sept) on Midriff Records

Track Listing