Overman is a Chicago-based indie rock band who directed me to a handy little site with all of their music, promotional material and photos in one easy to access place. Nice! The first song, Evolution Rocks had me flashing back to ABC's "Schoolhouse Rock!" - a series of educational musical vignettes from the 1970s that has now entered cult status. I didn't read the handy promotional material to see if this was intended, but I suspect it was. Fun stuff. Now I want to see the scratchy film cartoon video that accompanies it.
Princess is rootsy and upbeat, like the best of old school country. Very nice lead break and an unexpected cacophony of noise in the middle twist the song up, where it turns down a more serious path. Great guitar lead plays over the repetitive chorus leading out.
Sweet Escape starts out sounding like an old AM radio hit and then slowly builds into a lively upbeat track that gets under your skin quickly. I want to compare the tracks to the country-influenced songs that the Rolling Stones did like Wild Horses, All Down the Line or Dead Flowers but that doesn't quite nail it. A very well done and insanely catchy song.
The final track, Move On, was my favorite. The swampy vibe of the track, with its droning harp and bluesy rock groove brought to mind some Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, merged with some JJ Grey, with some Neil Young thrown in to give it an older vibe. Outstanding guitar work drive the track to a Freebird-like jam midsong, and then it slips back into its slow groove as it ends.
Visit the band at: http://www.myspace.com/overmaniscoming
