Lions in the Street

Once known as the Years and signed to the currently bankrupt TVT Records, LIONS IN THE STREET left behind an onerous deal and a debut LP thrust into limbo for artistic freedom and a new life as an independent rock & roll unit. The band put the excellent Cat Got Your Tongue EP out in 2006 on its own Hand to Mouth label; after a couple of years of roadwork and recording, the Vancouver quartet releases another aperitif as it readies the new version of its first album. The Mixtape EP, available as a download from the quartets website, combines tunes recorded with producer DAVE COBB for the aborted TVT album with a demo and a preview of the upcoming full-length. Shangri-La, the latter, is a primo cut, the kind of tune the ROLLING STONES havent been able to knock out since Exile On Main Street. The other four songs, whether rocking (Never Make a Fool Out of Me), rolling (Oh Carolina) or romancing (Still the Same), are nearly as good, especially the brooding ballad Ruthless. Worth every megabyte, especially for fans of rock & roll in the style of the Stones and the FACES. -- Michael Toland, Big Takeover www.lionsinthestreet.com