The Izzys: The Violent Bear It Away

New York-area band The Izzys have a bit in common with Mr. Stradlin in that their garage, seedy sound often works well — as is the case with “The Madman Sleeps”. Lead singer (hell, the lone singer) Mike Storey doesn’t rock the boat on this song too much but it works regardless thanks to the guitar work of himself and Steve Strohmeier. But the group throw a curve or changeup with the basic blues of “Drinking Who Hit John” which seems to take the piss out of the record. And the false ending doesn’t help one iota. From there The Izzys come off a bit better with the Stones-y “I’m a Rounder” that reeks of alt-country and also during the similar Gram Parsons-ish style fueling the pretty “Slow Drag” which isn’t too slow and far from dragging the record down. Once the listener realizes the path the group is on, then things seem to go much smoother, with a dark horse such as the punchy “Call My Name” coming off with flying colors. The title track though might be the keeper of the nine offered, as it seems to hark back to the best of what Jagger and Richards captured all those years ago. One of the few albums around where the “patience is bliss” adage works wonders.