Album Notes

"Hard Words in a Speakeasy" reads like a handbook for bridging modern Americana with rock n'roll out of the garage... each song stands on it's own a a snapshot of unique, unfettered songcraft... Honest, unpretentious rock...

- Jeff Shelton, Amplifier Magazine

"The album is a killer, start to finish; a full rack of meaty cuts with that vinyl-era soundthat never really goes out of fashion."

- Jason Meininger, West Coast Performer

"Reputation" brings a nervous post-punk energy to exactly the kind of descending riff the Kinks were all about that sunny afternoon on Dead End Street. And when they slow it down a bit and mellow out on a poppier song like "Strange New Element," they're even better, giving lead vocalist/songwriter Johnny Leitera all the room he needs to wrap his best Westerbergian pout around the story of a man who "invented the something that led to the else/When his books got too heavy, he discovered a shelf." Great lyrics, better vocals, with some nice guitar noise to distract you while the melody invades your brain and sets up shop.

- Ed Masley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette