The Apothecary EP

iTunes Review

Brooklyn’s Leland Sundries play an old-time Appalachian folk music that slams into barroom rock ‘n’ roll on its way to the alt-country scene. But where other country acts often put a spit-shine on their arrangements, Leland Sundries depend on the deadpan lead vocals of Nick Loss-Eaton. He delivers the news of “Elegy” with little more than a pulse, as rustic acoustic guitars and piano chase him into a variety of keys before song’s end. The harmonica wheezes like an ancient Dylan record. “High On The Plains” throws some electric guitars and a strengthened backbeat into the mix to sound like a garage band pulling off the Rolling Stones with Lou Reed on lead vocals. “Hey Self Defeater” and “Oh My Sweet Cantankerous Baby” jam along like a scrappy bar band full of barroom wit and an awkward self-consciousness that demands that they play with their strongest conviction. “The Man In The Giant Russian Overcoat” plays with the sort of paranoia one might hear from a cowboy John Cale.