Motel Beds are a rock & roll band from Dayton, Ohio—a delightfully detached underdog city nestled in the heart of The Heartland. Seasoned veterans, Beds have worked alongside Dayton's local advocates Kelley Deal (Deal duets on the lusciously hushed “Tropics of the Sand”) and Robert Pollard (guitarist Derl Robbins has recorded Guided By Voices). Allies aside, when it comes to rock & roll, Motel Beds speak for themselves.
These Are the Days Gone By reveals the fruits of Beds’ labor these latter years. The album is an electrifying collection of “hits,” remastered by Carl Saff (Guided By Voices, Dinosaur Jr., etc.) and featuring added bass parts by new(est) member and stalwart local ace Tod Weidner. Over a 12-song cycle, the proficiency with which Tommy Cooper and P.J. Paslosky—Motel Beds’ core songwriting duo—augment a solid hook is clearly set on display.
While Days largely finds Ian Kaplan at work as one of the finest rock drummers around today (not an embellishment), Beds demonstrate their versatility with two never-before-released tracks: a poppier version of 2011’s “Sunfried Dreams” and a beautiful acoustic cover of Matthew Sweet’s “I’ve Been Waiting”; the latter proving Paslosky to be much more than a rock vocalist. In addition to recording Motel Beds in a visionary manner, guitarist Derl Robbins adds his own unmistakable style and sound.
Motel Beds w/ The Harlequins
MOTR Pub
Friday January 17th
10p
FREE
