Stuyvesant, Linden Calling

There is something to be said about a band who unabashedly embraces their roots and in so doing makes music that appeals to an almost singular set of people who come from the same place. This approach has led to what has become a hugely popular genre of music: Americana. Stuyvesant is one of those bands. It’s not Americana, though; it’s not roots-rock, either. They’re from Jersey. Call it Jers-emo.

Stuyvesant’s official press release has an entire paragraph devoted to the origin of the band (they’re named after an area in northeastern New Jersey, as well as the name of a liquor store where one of the members of the band worked as a teenager), and there are many, many, many references to various haunts in the Garden State littered throughout the press material I was sent (something about a statue and a brewery and a cannonball — it’s all very abstract — but they’re from Jersey, how abstract can it be? I’m kidding; I love the place).

Linden Calling, Stuyvesant’s newest release (on Manual Phono Records), is what you’d expect it to be given the long list of famous Jersey rockers (The Boss, Jon Bon, Kool and the Gang, The Jonas Brothers). It’s rock music. Plain and simple. Very similar to Bon Jovi’s seminal New Jersey (released in 1988, two years after Slippery When Wet, and, in my mind, criminally neglected). If you want a rock and roll record, this one will do just fine. Its themes include the normals for rock and rollers — drugs and sex and poker and so forth. There are also two mysteriously unnamed songs, unnamed for the sake of something in the name of rock and rollllll (though I’m not sure what that something is).

Linden Calling is solid, though. It’s a fun ride through the landscapes of New Jersey (Exit 14 on the Jersey turnpike kicks ass), and there is a lot here for the fan of American rock and roll music. Loud but sweet guitars, extra-pound-y drums, lyrics that strike deep and stay there, and probably long-haired singing dudes. Really good stuff.