Philadelphian band Restorations, are now 10 years running, named for more than just architectural stability. It’s emotional renewal for the members themselves and for anyone listening. The band’s self-reflective, true colors are just as loud and bold as the layers of guitars galloping through each song. But after touring hard on the soul-rattling 2014 album LP3, the Philadelphia rock band needed some restoration itself.
Four years later, Restorations returns with LP5000 via Tiny Engines, the label that released its debut album. Restorations have always been a band keenly aware of their surroundings and LP5000 is just that: Seven songs written and recorded during a time of transition. It’s a record about displacement. It’s about feeling complacent and coming to the sudden realization that maybe things aren’t as solid as they’d seemed—in politics, in personal relationships, and in the different corners of their hometown of Philadelphia.
Underlined by looping keyboard chitter-chatter a la “Baba O’Riley,” the lead single “The Red Door” explodes the band’s larger-than-life rock and roll hoarsely yawped from the streets, but instead of looking inward, lead singer (and one of three guitarists) Jon Loudon looks just next door.
“Philadelphia (and perhaps your town, too?) is rapidly changing,” Loudon tells us “I wonder about where people go when they can’t afford to live in these new neighborhoods anymore. The red doors on all the new buildings feels like some kind of warning sign.”
Anthemic heartland rock-and-roll replete with mile-wide riffs, psychedelic chooglin’, and too many guitars.
The Fat Angel Sings 