Olymp has so many guitars, they pile up around here like cord wood. Many are put to good use, and not as fire wood but as the axe that grinds the rock'n'roll touchstone. Dang it if Restless are not making the kind of rock'n'roll I read about as a teenager in fanzines like Back Door Man and Bomp!: searing, pounding, soaring and savage, yet terribly sweet, too. Raised on the radio and born to rock 8 tracks 45RPM Our take: Debut release from this Olympia band. The sound here is rootsy, rocked-out power pop a la the Real Kids, but with a lead guitar sound that’s heavily indebted to Thin Lizzy. Restless have the same retro rock flavor as early Sheer Mag, making me think of muscle cars, dirt ‘staches and seedy high school parties like the one in Dazed and Confused. You might prefer the more Thin Lizzy-inspired mid-paced songs (especially if you’re a fan of guitarmonies), but I think Restless is at their best when they up the tempo and get more into Exploding Hearts / Real Kids territory on tracks like “On the Boulevard” and “Telephone Lover.”
