Margate - Rock 'N Roll Reserve

Margate – Rock ‘N Roll Reserve
2011, Boom 57 Records

Lead singers who are also drummers are always intriguing.  Its fun watching a band trying to work out the dynamic of having the person at the back of the band be the front.  Some bands pull it off better than others.  Los Angeles power trio Margate seems to have it down pat on their recently released EP Rock N Roll Reserve.

Margate announces their presence with the high energy alt rocker “Control”.  Punk energy pervades, but a distinctive meldocism is found here, and the chorus is the sort that sticks in your head for hours after first hearing it.  Margate’s cover of The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” brings an active, alt-rock sound with a muscular guitar solo.  The blend of lead vocal and harmonies here work very well against the more driven backdrop in a catchy and memorable update of the classic.  “Live It Up” is a vibrant rocker with real pop sensibility that you won’t be able to get out of your head.  “”Rock N Roll Reserve” is an ode to the career minor leaguers; the lads and ladies who continue to play the bars and clubs every Friday and Saturday night, long after the dream of ‘making it’ has faded.  It’s a great tune; an anthem for most anyone who’s ever strapped on a guitar and dreamed.  Margate closes with “This Road”, a rock and roll mission statement, of sorts, and an expansion on the ideas laid forth in “Rock N Roll Reserve”.  A memorable chorus and big harmonies help this one to flow like water.

Margate packs a punch on Rock ‘N Roll Reserve.  Their blend of high energy rock and roll, pop sensibility and vibrant melodies is candy to the ears.  More importantly, it’s exceedingly clear from the music that these guys love what they do.  That joy spills forth from the stage and from the album.  Rock ‘N Roll Reserve is the sort of album that gets under your skin.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Margate at www.margatemusic.com or www.myspace.com/margate.  Rock ‘N Roll Reserve is available from Amazon.com as a CD or Download.  The album is also available via iTunes.