Chevrolet Bar

This five-song EP hints at the considerable promise of Edmonton sextet Chevrolet Bar. Armed with crunchy guitars, a roaring B3 organ and layered vocal harmonies, their sound comes across like a lo-fi version of the Billy Bragg and Wilco collaborations. The craft of songwriters Mike Luce, Greg Miller and Cam West has a timeless quality to it; the no-depression ballad "Freedom March" and whimsical sing-a-longs "Just Wanna Listen to the Reverend" and "Cocaine Mine" are rough around many edges, but their performances are terrific and brimming with life. Like the accompanying homemade cardboard CD inlet, Chevrolet Bar employ few frills, but make good on the one thing missing from too many blues/alt-country acts, the songs.