Forcing the oft-clashing worlds of art and rock-and-roll to make nice, J. Roddy Walston & The Business (including guitarist/vocalist Billy Gordon, bassist/vocalist Logan Davis, and drummer Steve Colmus) deal in a scrappy yet sublime sound that honors both their Southern roots and punk spirit.

On Essential Tremors the band builds off that formula with a mix of heavy hooks and elegant melodies revealing their affinity for artists as disparate as Led Zeppelin, pre-disco-era Bee Gees, the Replacements, Randy Newman, and the Southern soul outfits that once populated the Stax Records label.