Initially getting together for a one-off party gig in 2005, talented guitar-totin’ journeymen Dan Kopko, John Blout and Craig LaPointe got up, played together and quite rightly wondered why the hell they hadn’t been together as a band before.
Adding John Lynch’s brawny discipline behind the drum kit, they became WATTS, named after The Rolling Stones’ gentleman drummer rather than the turbulent LA ghetto and began to build a reputation on their native Boston circuit. As Messrs. Kopko, Blout and LaPointe had previously worked with J. Geils’ manager Dee Anthony, respect wasn’t a problem and the quartet’s tough and gloriously melodic second LP ‘One Below the All-Time Low’ album (2007) got their name bandied around as Retro rockers to keep an eye on.
Three years on, they (remarkably) remain unsigned, re-entering the fray with their equally impressive third album ‘On The Dial.’ I can’t - and won’t even try- to make a case for them as sonic pioneers or some such tosh, but suffice it to say that you love your Garage Rock, Power Pop and killer Rock’n’Roll on the swaggering and generously raunchy side then you’ll soon be on Cloud 9.
The opening title tune immediately maps out Watts’ territory. Shooting from the hip with stinging riffs, a beefy rhythm section and topped off by Dan Kopko’s throaty vocals, it shakes quintessential Rock’n’Roll action and gives lead guitarist John Blout an early opportunity to show his fret board is in truly rude health.
From thereon in, it’s mostly a question of simply lying back and marvelling at one hook-stuffed tune after another. Crunchy, bitten-off rockers like ‘Afterburn’, the celebratory ‘Dancehall Days & Nights’ and the leery ‘Chaperone’ (“call me if you need a chaperone/ ‘cos the boys all shake when you take the microphone”) make like a glorious amalgam of The Knack, The Faces and early ‘70s-vintage Stones, while the tedium of one-night stands (“tattoo your name up and down the wall/ of every dancehall and bathroom stall”) is addressed on ‘Time To Give The Devil His Due’. Not that the lifestyle seems to have fazed Watts at all. They come on strong like the re-invigorated Jason & The Scorchers on this one.
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Of course, it’s not just thunderous riffing and power anthems Watts excel at. ‘Girls on Holiday’ is a fine stab at radio-friendly Power Pop to dream on to. The aggressive ‘Fight Song’ is a rousing protest song and the drum-heavy ‘No Secrets’ pays tribute to Australian garage heroes The Angels. As a team, Watts are refreshingly free of weak links, though their secret weapon is surely John Blout: a fine old-school lead guitarist a la James Honeyman Scott or John Perry, full of flash and daring, but never remotely overblown.
‘On The Dial’ is Watts’ third nigh-on exemplary outing and when I hear them, it beggars belief that they come without the weight of a major corporation. We could waste ages debating those whys and wherefores, but ultimately what’s more important is that tuning in to ‘On The Dial’ brings you the sort of glorious American guitar pop thrills you probably thought had died out. Help keep the airwaves alive and kicking by investing in this. You won’t regret it, believe me.
Watts on Myspace
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