What We're Listening To - Ponderosa's Moonlight Revival

There's so much to like on the Ponderosa's Moonlight Revival, it kinda hurts when it hits its low points. Luckily those few low points are bolstered by enough southern rock swagger to bring back Ronnie Van Zant.

Very firmly paying homage to the Allmans and Skynyrd, Ponderosa also sound a lot like Whiskeytown, early Kings of Leon, and labelmates Old 97s. Which means your getting a lot of songs unabashedly about being young, falling in and out love, chasing girls and drinking. The songs are loose, like they've been played live plenty of times, and the band knows where it's going.

It works a lot of times. On the white boy soul-burning ballad Hold On You, lead singer Kalen Nash is puts every inch of his voice into it. I imagine live, this nearly five-minute diddy gets taken out for a 10 minute Freebird-esque walk. Old Gin Road is raucous and fun, a romp about trying to leave a small town. But the slower, darker songs (Girl I've Ever Seen, Broken Heart) just seem to get in the way of the party here. But there's still fun to be had all over (Pretty People, Devil On My Shoulder), and the band jams so well, it's makes the whole album an easy listen.

But for a debut, it's pretty remarkable. I wish it was a little warmer so I could blast it and drink beer on my porch.

Get Ponderosa's Moonlight Revival at Amazon's mp3 Store