The members of Cheating Alethia, Cole Tryer, drums; Matt Boothby, bass and vocals and Zack Baker, guitar.
The opening track to Cheating Alethia’s album “Spare Room Panic” might give you the wrong impression. That is, unless, “Intro” didn’t already. The short, brooding instrumental erupts into “Shaky Pancakes” and the rock and roll party is underway. Brash and bombastic with big guitars and bigger vocals, fans of the blues-based rock genre would be content for an album’s worth just that. Then the next song, “The Office,” begins. The buzz of the guitar is exchanged for something more jangly, the vocals are a bit more subdued and you’re left wondering who put on a mid-career REM record when you weren’t looking and is this from Document or Fables? Alas, you realize you can make out the words and it’s not the legendary Athens quartet, it’s still Cheating Alethia. A moody interlude follows, almost a reprise of the intro, and as the pretty acoustic “Sophia Smiles” plays, it hits you: these guys can rock big, rock middle and rock mild. The second half of the record is definitely more of the former, “Breathe” and “Village Green” stand out most, but the statement has been made.