Stratified clouds of cigarette smoke in a bar are the images invoked by the music here. A smoke filled bar out of the 1960s is the style of venue I would expect to see Light Bulb Alley play.  A trio from Montreal, they're heavy on garage rock and lighter on the psych.

The debut album, The Sound of Things has twelve tracks including one Bo Diddley cover. Refreshingly under produced and simple, they state that it was “recorded live in studio”, i.e. no overdubs.

Besides the raw garage sounds of Karlo Sno on the bass and Ockert Greff on drums, Alister Booth (vocals and guitar) sounds so wounded that he brays and bawls through much of the CD. One might imagine Booth not as the singer but as a theatrical character who smoked and drank heavily while fretting over the situations that he sings about. It would explain the vocals. “Bad Day” is the track that sticks with me most. Not a polished gem, but a rough rock which does just that.

By David Tymoshchuk
Sep 13, 2011