Third Man US Vinyl & CDs

Review: Returning a half decade on from their critically acclaimed sophomore effort A Distant Call, Philadelphia's 70s rock imbued punk outfit Sheer Mag return with their most honed, poignant collection of material to date. Moving on from the "personal coming out party" that was their first few projects, lead vocalist Tina Halladay has made it abundantly clear that this material could not have been penned just a few years prior, while their mission statement going into Playing Favourites was to rectify the fact that no artist seems "to write straight up rock bangers anymore", with an emphasis on having "huge, catchy songwriting front and centre". Signing to Jack White's Third Man Records seems simultaneously like a fitting rite of passage as well as affirmation of the band's monumental success, with their retro-fitted, fuzzed out 70s psych-tinged rhythm & blues grooves swaying and weaving around Halladay's sultry, snarling cadence with a resolute confidence only achieved over time.