Thrift Store Ransom review at The Sound
File under: Folk, Americana, Pop, Rock
Sounds like: Impromptu jams from The Byrds, Electric Light Orchestra, Elvis Costello, and
Roy Orbison
Thrift Store Ransom was born out of the annual RPM Challenge. As many RPM alumni know, to write and record an entire album in the year’s shortest month is a journey best experienced with friends. The studio project that began with songwriter Eric Ott and Sean Yadisernia quickly grew to a gathering of 10, including Guy Capecelatro, producer Chris Decato and even Ott’s daughter, Lindsay, who contributed the majority, and the best, of the albums’ lyrics.
The band’s name is, in a sense, literal, as if Ott, Yadisernia, and company have raided a thrift store and plucked out gems from the past. The songs travel from decade to decade, employing the best sounds of their respective eras. The ’60s are well represented in the pop hooks on the album’s standout track, “Moonshine,” and the slow psychedelic sounds of “Cold Blue.” The ’70s “Crazy Horse”-inspired sounds of “The Mill Song #2” give way to the ’80s Costello-esque ender, “Crescent Palms.” The transitions are seamless, and combined with Ott’s resonant vocals, make for traveled-time well spent.
Ott is recording new solo material and playing with Nate Laban in Bear, Brook and The Elephant. Let’s hope he finds an occasion to bring Thrift Store Ransom together again. It would be interesting to see what they could do with more time, literally and figuratively.