A great deal can befall a man in a mere four years; degrees and diplomas can be earned in such time, and a family can be spawned. Beloved frontman Rod Walston has recently accomplished the latter, and Destroyers Of The Soft Life reflects these experiences in anything but a nice, neat, canned rock effort—complete with a new studio and producer Phil Ek (Built To Spill, Shins, Father John Misty, et al.) at the helm. This is a refreshed and focused J. Roddy And The Business. There are plenty of Essential Tremors, but this 10-pack of ditties follows no formula. It flirts with straight-up pop/rock and breathes life into the alternative-laden FM radio waves of the ’90s, all the while keeping the overall groove we’ve been beating to death since that first record fell in our laps. The band’s naturally punk aesthetic remains firmly intact, only with an intrinsic exercise of emotional growth.
–Scott Zuppardo
