Yes, it’s true. Nude Beach likes that old time rock n’ roll. With their style of throwback jams, the band is bound to conjure comparisons with heartland rockers like ‘The River’ era Springsteen and Tom Petty. You’ll hear plenty of comparisons like this in reviews of their sophomore record ‘II,’ but mostly from folks who forget how hard it really is to make this kind of music sound right.
For this sound to work, there’s a couple of ingredients you need to get right: the swagger needs to look like you don’t care much about anything, but the lyrics need to come across as passionate. In the fast-stepping rocker ‘Walkin’ Down My Street,’ or the lonely hearts anthem ‘Some Kinda Love,’ both marks are hit. And you have to sound as large as possible, but still have the lyrics be easy enough to hear and comprehend, as singer/guitarist Chuck Betz also manages to deliver well.
For just being a three piece, the group has somehow managed to sound like the Heartbreakers, the E Street Band, Bob Seeger and Rick Springfield all rolled up into one. It’s quite an accomplishment. So perhaps the best comparison for the Brooklyn-based group is the Ramones, a band that also remade classic rock as their own.
See them when they play Wed, June 6 with Babies and Marvin Berry at Glasslands Gallery. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)
