Chad Rex and the Victorstands, gravity works fire burns

I really no idea what to expect from Chad Rex and the Victorstands’ debut, gravity works fire burns — a grainy, black-and-gray cover pic with two plastic cowboys facing off, a weird band name (what the hell is a “Victorstand”?), and an emo-sounding album title. So it was an even more welcome surprise when gravity works fire burns unfolded to reveal itself as a warm, heartfelt, honest-as-the-day-is-long bit of classic-sounding roots rock. There’s a lot of Son Volt on here, particularly in the jangly buzz of the guitars, the understated pedal steel, and gentle-yet-propulsive momentum of the tracks, but while there’s nothing wrong at all with a little Uncle Tupelo-ness (“Not Arounded” being a good example here), it would be a mistake to write Chad Rex and crew off as yet another alt-country act.

The better bits step out of the “y’allternative” ghetto to evoke the best Springsteen songs (“That Way Girl,” in particular, with that great organ, but also “Andrea Again” and “Postcarded”), Tom Waits’ more romantic moments (“Mile Marker Town”), post-Replacements Paul Westerberg (yes, the excellent, aptly-named “Song for Paul Westerberg to Sing,” which could be straight off of the Singles soundtrack), and even countryish Elvis Costello pop (the incredible “Cities By Hotels”), combining all those influences fluidly into a convincing whole. The result is a rough-edged yet still sweet and nostalgic-sounding collection of songs that bring to mind quiet nights on a front porch in Middle of Nowhere America, thinking about good times past and pining for that true love that got away.