[Distro item, released by Flannelgraph Records]

 

It’s been over three years since Oscillate Wisely, the debut album from Mike Adams At His Honest Weight. A lot has happened to all of us since then, but it was a particularly action-packed time for ol’ Mike. His newborn son requiring emergency heart surgeries immediately after birth (doing fine now!), his former rock band of nearly 10 years calling it quits, and plenty of other heavy things have helped shape the follow-up, Best of Boiler Room Classics, into one of the most believably moving albums to come around in a long time. 

 

But forget about all that stuff for a minute because we need to talk about how great these SONGS are! And these are real songs, daddy! Verses, choruses, hooks, bridges, you know, well-written timeless songs that at least some of us will be listening to 50 years from now. The same mixing/mastering team of Adam Jessup & Eric Day have returned and have really taken their time to make this album sound like exactly one million bucks. The thoughtful, hard work that went into this record has resulted in something truly special, like a Midwestern Tusk made by fun, lovable people who actually get along really well. 

 

Best of Boiler Room Classics has the subtle, earnest warmth of an album like the Clientele’s Strange Geometry but with the arena-ready grandeur of ELO’s Out Of The Blue.  While there is an unforgettable instant catchiness to these songs, there is a depth, both lyrically and musically, that makes repeated listens a delight.

 

While this is not a country album by any means, songs like “Count On It” and “Don’t Want It, Don’t Get It” find Mike’s comforting words gripping your heart like an old Roger Miller ballad. Speaking of “Count On It”, just wait until those actual strings kick in at 2:27!  It’ll do something to you! 

 

What if the GBV albums on TVT had been produced by Cowboy Jack Clement?

What if The Wonders songs in That Thing You Do were actually performed by The Pernice Brothers? What if Dee Dee Ramone wrote “Late For The Sky” instead of Jackson Browne? What if Todd Rundgren engineered a Cass McCombs record? Find out now, order this LP.