Sheer Mag — "Nobody's Baby"
Sheer Mag once sent me a free t-shirt. The band accidentally published their album several months early to Bandcamp and immediately took it down. Following that, myself, Spencer Tweedy, and a couple dozen other fans received a really nice reply-all email imploring us not to share the album with anyone, and we would receive a free t-shirt as compensation for our efforts (or lack thereof).
Yet for a band so sweet, their songs have quite a bit of bite. Borrowing heavily from Thin Lizzy and, at times, Bon Scott-era AC/DC (aka the only era of AC/DC worth listening to), this Philly-based band pairs the best of ‘70s “butt rock” — the marriage of hard rock and heavy metal with super-masculine tendencies and guitar solos for days — and punk sensibilities. Sheer Mag looks like a punk band, but sounds like an homage to the soundtrack of my dad’s pre-marriage in-car blunt rotations.
“Nobody’s Baby” is my favorite song by the band. Sure, they’ve had two excellent studio albums since their first crop of singles, but I keep coming back to this track, as it’s one I’ve sometimes overplayed. A simple yet defiant chorus. A sweet Eric Bell-like guitar solo. It accomplishes more with two guitars, a bass, drums, vocals, and tambourine than most bands can do, and it does it in a hair over three minutes.
It also absolutely rips.
P.S. - We are, once again, a Spotify household. For now. Follow me on there, if that’s your bag.