Steven Fogel & The Disclaimers

Steven Fogel is a new artist from Toronto who plays spirited rock and roll tinged with country and folk. Refreshingly, Fogel doesn’t always feel the need to put his well-written lyrics on a pedestal — the amps are turned up for several songs. Fogel also displays a knack for song dynamics that belie his relative inexperience. “Foreign Tongue” is a whirlwind, starting off lo-fi before ending in a romp not unlike Springsteen’s “Rosalita.” The closest he comes to sounding like someone else is on the raucous “Manhattan Girl,” which sounds like the Stones, circa Some Girls, and if you like great titles, you won’t do much better than “These Kids Have Moustaches.” This is a promising debut with some truly great songs on it.