Need to Feel Your Love

Philly fivesome Sheer Mag may be suffering from something of a generational crisis on its debut full-length, Need to Feel Your Love. The album’s unabashedly 1970s hard-rock sheen is spiked by the razor-sharp caterwauling of vocalist Tina Halladay, especially as heard on the album’s big-riff scorcher “Meet Me in the Street.” Throughout the LP, Sheer Mag’s willingness to bow to its influences is refreshingly devoid of irony, with tunes as freakishly derivative as “Suffer Me” firing on all cylinders in all its punkish, garage-crew magic. There are left turns into New Edition-like pop-funk jams, too, with the addictive title track providing an anthemic banger for lovers of ’70s soul. Shades of the idolized, mustachioed virtuosos of rock’s more decadent past permeate the busy guitar work throughout the album, with songs brimming over with snaky leads and multiple progressions, all anchored by Halladay’s restless screech. This is the kind of record you’ll need to have handy at your next house party.