Album review: Montana 1948's debut full-length release, "Picket Fence"

Photo credit: Montana 1948

South Bay indie music fans take heed: local alternative rockers Montana 1948 are poised to turn some heads with their impressive full-length debut, “Picket Fence,” released earlier this month! The band is also gearing up for a slate of supporting shows.

Montana 1948 is at first flush a very pleasing to the ear and accessible indie alternative band with a polished and radio-ready sound somewhat in the vein of popular acts such as the Foo Fighters or the Kings of Leon.

But with influences that include more eclectic acts such as Radiohead, Mutemath, and Dredg, the South Bay-based Montana 1948 is no mere sound-alike group. The talented four-piece has crafted their own melodic and soulful take on the alternative rock vibe. So while they may be radio friendly, the best of their songs incorporate a whole lot more layering and diversity than is typical of top-40 alternative bands.

Montana 1948 is comprised of Ryan Lafferty on vocals, Charlie Maynard on drums, Dan Prull on guitar and Raza Malik on bass. The band’s inception dates back to 2003 when Prull and Malik met while both in grad school at UC Berkeley. Beginning to jam together, the pair formed the nucleus of what would become Montana 1948.

After Lafferty joined, all the pieces were in place for the band to build on its roots and refine its sound. They released their debut EP, “Tiny Drawings,” in 2009 which took them from playing local San Francisco gigs to appearing on stage in LA, New York, San Diego, Austin and Toronto. The band also garnered some radio play in Boston and LA with the single “Lie through Your Teeth.”

With their new full-length debut, “Picket Fence” (2010), Montana 1948 has certainly delivered on that early buzz. The twelve-track LP is chock full of jouncy hooks and melodic riffs that are well-anchored by Lafferty’s slightly raspy, sometimes plaintive, and always soulful vocals.

The songs on the new album showcase the band’s flair for injecting colorful interludes and complexity into their pop-alternative formula. Take for instance the outstanding track “Don’t Be Too Late” which deftly fuses emotionally charged vocals with driving guitars, throbbing bass, and evolving and changing percussion. Meanwhile, the track “How to Swim” features a catchy “save me” chorus with searing guitar crescendos and head bobbing bass and drums offset by subdued bridges. It is this kind of inventive songcraft and execution that underscores the band’s talented musicianship.

Other standout tracks include “Final Straw” (the album’s attention-grabbing opener that features blistering alternative rock energy and a power chorus), “January Jones” (upbeat and aggressive musically, but tempered with lyrics of regret), and “Never Home” (a mellower, nostalgic, and evocative ballad with a touch of alt-country twang).

On the whole, "Picket Fence" is an impressive debut. Fans of the alternative rock genre will find that Montana 1948 reprises and refreshes the winning formula of other popular radio rockers, But the band also manages to inject a fair amount of freshness to keep things interesting.

Montana 1948 has upcoming shows at Great America in late August and at UC Berkeley in September with more to come. In the meantime, check out more of their tunes on MySapce, grab their new album (currently on iTunes only), fan them on Facebook, and get ready to tell your friends you knew about them first as an up-and-coming South Bay breakout band – because there is no doubt Montana 1948 is headed toward more widespread attention.