Joey Alvarado - Joey Alvarado

Joey Alvarado

Joey Alvarado
self-released; 2015

3.5 out of 5

By Stephen Jordan

Joey Alvarado is a musician/singer/songwriter who describes his sound as rock and roll with a bluesy swagger, and that is exactly what you get when "Gotsta Go" comes on - the first track on his self-titled EP Joey Alvarado. It has a live, garage-rock feel to it, in that aspect the production of this song is handled very well.

The grimy rock and blues influence is absolutely noticeable here but perhaps more covert is the small dose of 80's anthemic rock. Although the audio mixing could use a slight adjustment to allow for Joey's vocals to stand out more, this is a pretty promising track to start the EP.

There is some really nice instrumentation on the track “Turn Away From The Son." Opening with a very sweet guitar riff, "Biggest Mistake" remains one of my favorites, if not my absolute favorite, song on the whole EP. Fantastic musicianship and guitar work throughout, and the vocals here felt really pronounced and pulled me into the production. The hook is very catchy and doesn't take too long to get stuck in your head. "I wanna be your biggest mistake" are words that stick with me. Really nice guitar solo near the end.

"Up Out My Face" immediately reminded me of something I would hear on Jack White's Lazaretto - this song definitely has attitude and swagger. Fantastic rock music here. This song contains inventive creative lyrics. The vocal pitch and delivery is just about perfect and he's got real charisma on this track; singing over the verses he commands a strong presence over the microphone. And after having this song on repeat for so long, I'm going to have to declare this one as a certified highlight.

"Served" is the final song and ends the EP on a solid note. What also works with this EP is that it's a breeze to listen to; no song goes over the four-minute mark and that allows for a more enjoyable listening experience and has very strong replay ability. Definitely a recommendation, if you are a fan of blues, garage-rock or a combination of both. 

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