Artist Roadside Graves

New Jersey band Roadside Graves' seven members stamp up a roadhouse-gospel-soul sound with John Gleason's naturally pinched, uneven voice pitched uneasily but tunefully over it. The result is like a more unsettled version of The Felice Brothers, letting lots of raggedy spontaneity seep into the band's folksy, approachable songs. The generally ramshackle feel doesn't necessarily mean the group is sloppy: The clatter of piano, guitar, and extra percussion actually helps to bring out the heart and generally solid craft behind the tunes on albums like 2009’s My Son's Home and the recently released EP You Won’t Be Happy With Me, which features the sprawling “Liv Tyler.”  

Updated 08/11/2010