Honky Tonk Chateau – Self-Titled

Similar in tone and texture to Washington state’s late, lamented Picketts, the Honky Tonk Chateau shuffles and flaunts a plethora of styles with convincing, infectious passion. Three of the four write, while the fourth, drummer Chris Appleby, is an atomic clock.

Elastic vocalist Sheri Hurst grabs the spotlight with her folk-rocking “If It Were So” and the hopeful “Everything Is Blue”, but as this brief-but-muscular disc unfolds, it becomes readily apparent that the Chateau has many rooms of varied design (and no vacancies).

Bassist Mike Netzer sings a blue-collar lead on “Running Through My Veins”, a primitive stomper recalling Social Distortion. Hurst returns front-and-center with the swooping plea “Don’t Walk Away”, then shadows Netzer with a shit-kickin’ duet on “Stranger In Love”. Hurst reclaims the mike on Netzer’s gnarly “Guilty”, applying a sassy country warble to a “Twist And Shout”-based spin on ’60s garage/frat/punk. The disc winds up with guitarist Mike Stevens’ provocative show-stopper “Distraction”, his voice like a leaky accordion.

And then, like a cool breeze in August, it is gone. Devoid of instrumental expansion or lame-ass padding, this debut is a brisk, white-hot disc coming in at just under 22 minutes. Before you balk at that, check most records for 22 quality minutes.