Most Texas blues bands keep things pretty straightforward, turning out gritty records that would sound good at any Lone Star road house.
The Road Kings are little different. Perhaps mindful of winning a larger, younger audience, they've taken cues from such post-alternative bluesmen as
Beck, giving their music a solid rhythmic underpinning and a radio-ready gloss. At times, that means that their eponymous debut feels a little directionless, or possibly compromised, but when they lay back and simply rock, they -- and, in particular, lead guitarist
Jesse Dayton -- show their promise. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine