If T-County’s The Stagecoach Robbery were an athlete, they’d be a marathon runner. The four-piece act specializes in endurance-pushing performances — a typical concert might easily run four hours long. Their new album, “Home,” is a testament to their stamina: though it features only nine tracks, the playlist is more than an hour’s worth of music. The songs specialize in Grand Funk Railroad-style prolonged jamming, with funk flavors fusing with country, blues, even disco.
The mild-voiced John McCarron (lead guitar and vocals) and Tristan Ankrom (guitar, lead vocals and harmonica) join forces in singing, though the band often, wisely, lets its strong instrumental work do the talking. Seth Swegheimer lends a steady hand on drums, with Marcus Dreher on bass.
The rock strains might mosey down the psychedelic path, or they might get diverted into prog-rock or jam-band camps. “Anytime Blues” evokes the funkier elements of acts like ZZ Top, while the very next track — “Light of Day” — is hazy, blue-eyed acoustic pop, more John Mayer than Billy Gibbons.
Classic T-county Southern rock seeps through the seams of several songs, and the title track even carries a pronounced rum-scented whiff of reggae.
The wide-ranging talent of The Stagecoach Robbery, in fact, might be one of its impending weaknesses: The album is at times downright schizophrenic, and you’d have a hard time recognizing a signature sound that links the songs together. Still, the band’s ability, and versatility, portend a bright future: They already have followings in NEO as well as western Pennsylvania, and will be touring both regions this summer. “Home” is a local gem well worth investigating, especially considering that track four, “Asscrack of Dawn,” deserves kudos as our favorite song title so far this year.
The album was produced by Gary Morocco, who also lends a hand on keyboards. The track “Home” features vocals by Alice Coutts. The album is available on the band’s website, www.stagecoachrobbery.com, as well as CDBaby and iTunes
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