Shanghai Love Motel

Shanghai Love Motel draws from the old weird America, the acute angles of bebop harmony, the original British Invasion (and all the times we've invaded them back), the spare and edgy postpunk years, and the deep groove that unites all real rock 'n' roll.

Some hear echoes of Richard Thompson, Elvis Costello, Neil Young, NRBQ, Tom Verlaine, Los Lobos, and Mission of Burma in this band's sound. (Some also pick up the occasional hit of Thomas Pynchon, or a pint of Seamus Heaney, or a shot of James Ellroy.) There are hooks; there are complexities; there are surprises; there are roots, not all of which are obvious. Guitarists Bryan Brown and Adam Russell develop a purposeful contrapuntal...