Imaginary Sons, "Let it Beer" Album Review

Band: Imaginary Sons

Album: Let it Beer

Release Date: 1/10/2015 at The Camel in Richmond, VA

Mike Cruz: Guitar/Vocals

Tommy Crisafulli: Guitar/Vocals

Kyle Hermann: Bass/Vocals

Russell Redmond: Drums/Vocals

Track Listing:

1. Rat Killer Theme
2. Kicking the Cup
3. Full Time
4. Penny Lame
5. Never There
6. Talkie Talkie
7. 90's Kid
8. Ben Gone
9. Traitor's Grave

Let It Beer, the Imaginary Sons' debut album, will be released TONIGHT, January 10, 2015 at The Camel in Richmond, Va.  Let It Beer is a great ride!  The themes of the piece are strong and cohesive, and the music carries the listener through a journey of experience from the perspective of the artists.  The album showcases the band’s talent as well as its drive to get down and stay true to themselves throughout the ride.

The Imaginary Sons  do a very good job at telling their story.  They draw on high-spirited observation of the world they are in.  From drunken bar crawls to quiet desperation these guys paint a riveting picture of the world as they see it.

At many points during the album I found myself identifying sounds and styles from other bands and artists.  One of the things I really like about this album is that the band pulls inspiration from every which direction and makes the sound their own.  Just as “Let it Beer”, and “Penny Lame” are references, the Sons have molded the inspiration into their own story, while maintaining an heir of respect to the artists they emulate.  At times the album reminded me of Black Sabbath, Radiohead, the Pixies, and the Ramones, a heavy leaning toward the "heavy".  But what really dialed me in was the aesthetic influences that played through.  After hearing it through a few times, I really had a sense of a fictional world that was based on real life experiences. 

If I had to sum up Let It Beer it would be: empowering!  On top of being really good music, the overall experience is uplifting, high energy, and an overall great tr.  Rarely do I listen to an album and get totally swept up in it, but Let It Beer delivers. A slam dunk for a first album, The Imaginary Sons play through a rollercoaster of high points and low points.  The material has a ring of truth through the songs and I applaud the honesty of the range.

The opening track of the album, Rat Killers, has a bouncy rhythm of a drunken bar crawl.  The song opens the scene for a journey of discovery.  From a place of humility, the song builds to a very driving and empowing theme.  Track two, Kicking the Can, is about putting out your A-game and throwing down on the road.  This is exactly what they do musically.  Building to a wild driving jam, this song brings me to a motivated and fired up place.

Full Time, the third track, is a slower song about the balance of the wild life of the road and the lonliness that comes with it.  Full Time clears the pallet from the high energy of the first couple of songs and leaves the listener sharing in the range in experience of the artists.

Penny Lame, track four, is a really funny song.  Drawing from a Beatles style, the Imaginary Sons put their own signature driving flair into this piece that tips its hat to some of their musical inspiration.  Penny Lame really opens the album up to the Sons’ sense of humor.

Never There is a song about suffering the effects of being cut off from previous support structures.  Coming into one’s own is seldom a smooth transition, and the Sons do a good job here of painting that picture.  The song Talkie Talkie deals with becoming a character and celebrating the success of it all.

90’s Kid starts out with a quick tempo and demands a head bounce as you hear it. The song then seems to pull from a spread of 90’s stylistic influences, both popular and from the fringe.   I was brought back to when I first got my license, raging out to Radio Head, Phish, or whatever was good on the radio.  The song itself is a look back at the time when lifestyle decisions were locked in and how that forms one’s identity in the periods to come.  Ben Gone, is a song about the character one becomes after being on the road for a long time.  It’s a well painted description of road weary yet powerful character, something I happen to identify with.

Traitor’s Grave, the final song on the album, is a kind of call to arms about "being right" in the world.  It’s a good song to wrap up the album.  It’s high energy, catchy, and insightful.  The jazzy outro seemed like a cartoon punctuation or finale to a silent film.

I have had the pleasure of seeing these guys perform live many times now and every time they have thrown down. First they came to one of our work weekends, and they put on a stellar performance (after volunteering and helping us throughout the day!!).  Then they played Pink Moon, and had a blow out set. My wife and I caught them again at Richmond’s “Our House” Halloween party, only to find them fully dressed as “Rocky Horror Picture Show” - they served a wild audience a wild show with a number of well done covers from the movie.  And finally they brought the love for a Pink Moon Showcase at 622 North in Blacksburg and delivered three raging sets of covers and originals all evening long.

On top of being great to work with and great guys in general, I have to say this band’s got "it".  They are hard working, very talented, inspired, and inspirational.  If you ever get a chance to go see them, I strongly recommend it.  If you can grab Let It Beer, you should.  

The Imaginary Sons’ new album Let It Beer, as with each of their live shows, is a great ride.