Reviews                  

Produced by Don Coffey Jr. and The Faults

Recorded and engineered by Kevin Crothers

Recorded at Stealth Studios, Knoxville,TN

Mixed by Stuart Sikes, Easley-McCain Studios, Memphis,TN

Mastered by Donnie Bott, Mastermix, Nashville TN  

Reviewer -Kevin Oliver

Knoxville's V-Roys had a good run capped by a pair of albums on Steve Earle's E-Squared label, but like some other more significant bands (Uncle Tupelo, the Replacements), this breakup has resulted in two distinctly different but equally interesting projects. Singer Scott Miller went one way with a quieter solo effort, while the other three members, Mic Harrison, Paxton Sellers, and Jeff Bills hooked up with guitarist Robbie Trosper to form The Faults. The first clue to the retro-pop glory of The Faults lies not in the group's music or past history, but in the cover of this disc. What looks like a dirty ring on the front and back cover art reveals itself, on closer inspection, to be facsimile of ring wear, which any vinyl junkie will recognize in an instant as that album-shaped ring on rubbed LP jackets which are frequently removed from their storage crates. What does this have to do with the music? Let's just say that this is one album you'll want to pull out again and again. It's that catchy. The Faults, main sound is beefy Smithereens-style guitar pop with monster hooks, but being Southern boys the group is a bit more ragged than retro about it. Cowboy Mouth and The Bottle Rockets would be appropriate references for such over-the-top tunes as "Big Show," and "Dishonest Jenny," while "Watertown" recalls vintage Fleshtones garage rock. The V-Roys sound is always a factor in the background, since these guys were three-fourths of that group, but as The Faults they go in plenty more power-pop directions that their old, more country-rock band never attempted.

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