Oakland’s Blues Lawyer unveil All in Good Time on February 17, the band’s third full-length and first for the Dark Entries label. With vocalist-guitarist Rob I. Miller and drummer-vocalist Elyse Schrock joined by guitarist Ellen Matthews and bassist-backing vocalist Alejandra Alcala, their latest finds them moving from a sideline band to a high priority. It also captures the outfit’s embracement of a ’90s Alt rock sound, and with a heavy emphasis on melody that borders on indie pop classique.
Guess Work, Blues Lawyer’s first album, came out in April of 2018 on Emotional Response Records, with its follow-up Something Different released in November of the following year on the Mt. St. Mtn. imprint. In 2021 they issued the song “Scenic Route” on a 33⅓ rpm single-sided fully playable postcard flexi disc in a limited edition of 250 copies on Vacant Stare Records (copies are still available on Bandcamp).
For All in Good Time, the band has been described as moving on from an ’80s Flying Nun jangle approach, but to these ears, Guess Work sported a Wire-y art-punk template that fomented a suspicion the band owned at least one copy of Cali-classic Keats Rides a Harley, and with touches of Dan Treacy folded into the mix. Of its ten songs, “Real Cool Guy” is the highpoint, but the whole record’s short sharp and sweet bite is like taking a big swig of cherry cough syrup.
Some of the angles get sanded down a bit for Something Different (vinyl copies are currently available) but the ten songs still land closer to art-punk than the sounds heard on the Flying Nun Dunedin Double or Tuatara comps. “Scenic Route” falls into a decidedly indie pop neighborhood, as does its digital bonus cut “Crystal Ball.”
At 31 minutes, All in Good Time is four tracks deeper and roughly 11 minutes longer than Guess Work, and 15 minutes longer than Something Different. For the new one, they leave the punkish angularity behind for a set of tunes that could’ve found Blues Lawyer signed to Geffen circa 1992 or thereabouts (had the band been so inclined).
In short, maturity has set in, alongside the growth from a self-defined “throwaway project” to a proper band. The accompanying promo text for the new record mentions Teenage Fanclub, which isn’t off target, though there’s not much in the way of a detectable Big Star vibe in Blues Lawyer’s songs here. Energetic opener “Chance Encounters” is tom drum-laden and vocal harmony-infused nugget, while “Salary” slows it down with a ’60s feel that harkens back to the Ramones.
With its big anthemic riff and Schrock’s lead vocal sass, “Return Policy” is a trim but hearty slice of late 20th century pop-rock action, while a fresh version of the flexi bonus “Crystal Ball” retains the indie pop feel but is ultimately a smoother proposition. Schrock is back up front for the urgent “Late Bloomer,” which is likened to Heavenly in the PR, and with this, I concur wholeheartedly.
With Miller back at the mic, “Someone Else” is an up-tempo chugger that retains ties to the band’s punk roots, and “Elusive Eden” adds a little drum box rhythmic flavor (carried over from the flexi) to the mid-tempo glide and with an economy sized guitar solo the capper. From there, “I Won’t” revs its engine at the crossroads where gal-voxxed indie pop inhales more of those Ramones-ian fumes, and “Nowhere to Go” is another hard charger that’s pop angle is most deeply expressed through Miller’s singing.
Blues Lawyer are adept at harmonies, (the chorus of “Wrong Time” is an album highlight), but “Make Up” is a legit ’60s rooted (and by extension, indie pop-ish) duet, as is the set’s finale “Tangled Mess. “Understood” returns to the Heavenly well and comes back with a full bucket, as a more polished but still quite likeable version of “Scenic Route” follows. The soaring guitar in “Tangled Mess” brings the record to a fitting close. If it’s Blues Lawyer’s most conventional slab, All in Good Time still an engaging listen.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
B+
