More quality vintage jams

Rock music has evolved considerably over the years. From Britpop to hair metal, from grunge to pop-punk, it’s a genre that has always been near and dear to many people’s hearts. But often people tend to forget where rock music originally came from. It began to show up in the 1950s with artists like Buddy Holly, Elvis and Chuck Berry, men who took blues and gospel influences and turned it into the raucous party rock n’ roll became. Very few rock artists pay tribute to these original influences, and very few people still listen to them.

Nick Waterhouse is one of the few artists that still write music emulating these old heroes. He’s been doing it for quite some time too, as his debut single was released all the way back in 2010. Waterhouse got his start playing in San Francisco, but the music scene wasn’t kind to him. He did land a job at a record store, though, that allowed him to discover all of his favorite artists in depth and gave him a new community of fellow artists to work with. His career only took off from there, with the highlight to date being that his song “Katchi” was remixed into a #1 hit by the French DJ duo Ofenbach. Now in 2019, Waterhouse has just released his self-titled fourth album.

For those that know Waterhouse’s music, his new album isn’t much different than the previous ones. Just like all the others before, these songs draw heavily from 1950s and 1960s influences with a garage rock flair. The opener “By Heart” taps into doo-wop. After that is the Doors-y “Song For Winners,” which showcases a more upbeat edge to his songwriting. Other high notes include the Motown horns on “Black Glass,” the more modern indie crunch of “Man Leaves Town,” the swinging “Undedicated” and the Roy Orbison-style closer, “Wherever She Goes (She Is Wanted).”

Overall, Waterhouse has done another stellar job in terms of putting together a strong album with tight songwriting and fun twists. It may not score him a #1 hit in France, but that doesn’t need to be the case for him to continue to succeed as an artist.