Honeymoon Stallions and King Washington

Honeymoon Stallions “Moonlighting”
Andy Goldberg (The Sun Kings, The Goldbergs) returns with a new band and a new album. The Honeymoon Stallions gallop out of the gate with the opener “If It Wasn’t For You,” a terrific melody with a layer of organ under the guitar riffs. “Radio Song” has a touch of Nick Lowe with its solid hooks. “Driftin'” is a slightly mellower Andy, similar to Jeff Larsons bluesy mid-tempo jangle pop. This newer texture continues on “By The Moon…” and the Beatles bounce with Harrison-styled slide guitar surfaces on “Every Now and Then.” Every song is strong here, and its on par with his previous albums. Overall, a welcome autumn present for lovers of great guitar pop.

King Washington “The Gears”
L.A. powerhouse vocalist Tyson Kelly has the best rock vocals since Ed Roland, and proves it with this superb debut. Joined by lead guitarist George Krikes, bassist Dylan Cronin and drummer Kyle Turek, The Gears is a triumph of sparkling musicianship and high gloss production. You’ll hear Badfinger-like harmonies and hooks aplenty on the title track, its just mesmerizing. And the Helter Skelter opening on “Fourth Of July” leads to snappy melody full of awesome harmonies and guitars. But despite the nods to rock gods of the past, the bands sound is totally unique. More potential “hits” are “Animal” and “Anybody Home” but it runs out of gas by the albums end. However you can’t deny the great tracks on the albums first half, so I’d highly recommend this one.