Rob’s Album Of The Week: GA-20’s Lonely Soul

At its core, the blues has a way of grabbing hold of the senses and loosening up the nerves unlike any other kind of music. This ability is evident when the guitar is plugged in while the drums and chords combine to create rock solid beats and rhythms. With a dirty and raw take on the style, Boston’s GA-20 captures all of this in excellent fashion. This trio puts a New England spin on Chicago’s brand with a no frills approach. Their debut Lonely Soul, which is officially due out on October 18 via Karma Chief Records, is the result and this review column has the privilege of premiering it today.

The band originally started out due to a mutual love that friends Matthew Stubbs and Pat Faherty have for old school blues, R&B and rock & roll from the ’50s and ’60s. Stubbs leads the riffs on guitar while Faherty does the singing and strumming with Chris Anzalone on the drums. The most noticeable thing about Lonely Soul is the vintage tones. Press play and visions of smoking indoors with some whiskey on the rocks come to mind. It’s the kind of music that travels through time while taking from the era where it was born and turning it into something fresh.

Ever since it first gained the public’s attention during the ’50s, the blues has always managed to last through the times. Each decade and has had at least one act carrying the torch while unleashing…