Album Notes

Tammany Hall NYC is an indie group whose ship came in and beached on the shores of Vallhalla.

In others words, they made it.

And for good reason.

When I received their CD "Back in the Bottle" for review about a month ago, I played it on the way to work and haven't stopped listening to it yet.

They bill themselves as "a four piece modern pop rock band".

Style-wise, I hear something between Jane's Addiction and Simon and Garfunkel.

Talk about bookends! In the pop vein, their music is listener friendly but the passion of their performance and the depth and range of Stephen O'Reilly's lyrics elevate this group into a class of its own.

The songs are well-crafted with great lyrics and a strong sense of drama.

"Wait for Jane" starts out with a catchy guitar hook which quietly grows with tempo and urgency until climaxing in a flood of wailing vocals and flailing guitars.

HBO picked it up for the season opener of the Sopranos and you do not get any cooler than that.

Not to mention buckets of validation.

I'm a sucker for acoustic guitars played hard with conviction and these guys are at their best doing just that.

Combined with great vocals and lyrics that dig deep, "Back in the Bottle" is a CD you will enjoy.

As O'Reilly writes, "It's better to live and act like a fool/ than to fool yourself into not living at all." Good advice from a great songwriter and from a CD you'll be leaving in the player.

Rob Dunne: MINOR 7th.com