LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

Atsa My Band is like five albums in one. You can listen to it and let the flow of the songs roll over you, but you can also start at the top and follow just one of the four quartet members the whole way through. Joey Spampinato's bass lines reconfigure their shape at every turn. Terry Adams startles with chords and phrases that sound completely unique and totally right. Tom Ardolino creates such a playfully swinging rhythmic foundation that the propulsion feels insistent, even after each song ends. Johnny Spampinato brings flair as part of the rhythm section, and as a riveting soloist.More than being simply the latest chapter in their ever unfolding thirty-year-plus story, NRBQ have drawn from the exhilarating spontaneity of their live shows to create Atsa My Band. With spirits at an all time high, the band entered the studio with no particular plan other than to record whatever songs moved them at the moment. Nobody else could have made this album, and NRBQ themselves could not have made it until now