Jeff the Brotherhood: We Are the Champions

Label: Infinity Cat

Rock fans, you cannot front on Jeff the Brotherhood. Yes, these two dudes are brothers (not "bros"); no, neither of them are named Jeff. But as rock duos are concerned, you'd be hard-pressed to find any with a fuller or more wide-ranging sound. We Are the Champions is the fifth album by Nashville's Jake and Jamin Orrall, and working from a straightforward garage-rock base it strikes out into tons of different rock sounds: metal ("Cool"), proto-punk (the forward-charging "Shredder") and, well, "Ripper" kind of checks in at several stations over the course of nearly five minutes. Sit with this expansive Southern-rock mini-opus and you'll stop casually tossing around the word "epic," let's just say that. The best part of Jeff the Brotherhood is you never think they're missing a bassist or anything: Jake's guitar tone is full and raw, his vocals a throaty growl; Jamin's drum-pounding is heavy but precise and nimble. Oh man -- the last minute of "Ripper" is just so dominant! Exhibit #4,000,000,000,000,000 in the defense of rock & roll's immortal life.