The Sheepdogs - Future Nostalgia (2015)

Carrying on the proud Canadian rock & roll tradition of easy on the brain and ears, pure as Nunavut snow classic rock & roll in the vein of the Guess Who and Bachman Turner Overdrive, The Sheepdogs' fifth studio long player, the aptly named Future Nostalgia, sounds like the work of a seasoned bar band who decided to tweak their set of classic rock covers by writing their own alternate-universe versions. Everything on the LP sounds instantly familiar, from the Bad Company-esque "Giving It Up for My Baby" to the Zep-loving "Hey, Hey What Can I Do"-inspired "Downtown." That the latter of the two sees no shame in rhyming "sweet baby" with "don't say maybe" shouldn't put listeners off, as the myriad tropes (both lyrical and musical) that make up the 19-track set are delivered so artfully, and most importantly, without a hint of irony, that the overall effect is a lot like finding that rare classic rock radio station that doesn't just play the same three Foreigner songs all day. They even manage to work in an appropriately spacy instrumental tribute to Jim Sullivan, the obscuro, cosmos-obsessed singer/songwriter who mysteriously disappeared in the New Mexico desert in 1975 after releasing a one-off U.F.O-themed folk-rock record six years prior. Also, don't be put out by the number of tracks, as the album only clocks in at around 50 minutes, all of which are relegated to delivering your ear holes a bevy of expertly played Queen-style guitarmonies, stadium-ready singalongs, boogie rock backbeats, Rhodes electric piano solos, and stories about good times gone bad/bad times gone good. Solid.

TRACKLIST
01. I'm Gonna Be Myself
02. I Really Wanna Be Your Man
03. Downtown
04. Jim Gordon
05. Bad Lieutenant
06. Jim Sullivan
07. Back Down
08. Help Us All
09. Take a Trip
10. Same Old Feeling
11. Nothing All of the Time
12. Darryl & Dwight
13. Where I Can Roam
14. The Bridge City Turnaround
15. Plastic Man
16. Giving It Up (For My Baby)
17. I Get By
18. Where I Can Roam (Reprise)