In the Mix is a monthly column of reviews of albums by musical artists local to the Reno area. To submit an album for review consideration, send a physical copy to Brad Bynum, Reno News & Review, 708 N. Center St., Reno NV 89501 or a digital link to bradb@newsreview.com.
Meet The Liver Scars comes with a glossy comic book depicting an adventurous night in the life of a hard-drinking rock ’n’ roll band. It’s a fun storybook read-along with the record.
The Liver Scars started as an outlet for a bunch of Reno musicians, including vocalist Felix Polanski of Pinky Polanski, Garrett Donovan and Todd Imus of The Firebombing, local radio personality Ron Way, and member of too-many-bands-to-list Nick Ramirez, to drink and play cover songs by The Damned, the Ramones and The Dead Boys.
The eight songs on Meet the Liver Scars are originals that fit right in with those old-school American punk tunes. It’s high-volume, high-energy music with a Jameson flavor. In fact, though the comic book is nice, it might have been more appropriate if the album had come packaged with a bottle of whiskey.
Spitting Image could have come from no place other than Reno. Tim Tucker Band combines appealing, simplistic songwriting with slick adult contemporary production.
Buster Blue’s Still on Conway is full of pleasing contradictions. For Memory Motel, as with many sonically adventurous young groups, Radiohead looms large.