The Brought Low are a rough midpoint between the Black Crowes' unabashed Faces worship and the ironic retro-glam posturing of the Darkness: Right On Time is the sound of a band that's deliberately recreating a long-past time and place, but this dose of 1970s heavy rock sounds entirely sincere. The Brought Low's obvious influences include Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bachman Turner Overdrive, the James Gang and Bad Company: the album even ends with a churchy R&B-influenced rave-up called 'There's A Light' powered by a Gregg Allman-style organ part. It's hard not to think of the Rutles, Neil Innes' note-perfect recreation of the Beatles' sound and spirit, or of the plethora of new bands since the turn of the millennium whose sole raison d'etre is to pay tribute to the post-punk era, but this quartet led by singer/guitarist Benjamin Howard Smith - a fine blue-collar Rock Dude name - are so palpably sincere on tracks like 'A Better Life' and 'Vernon Jackson' (a tribute to the rough and tumble section of Queens that the band calls home) that it's impossible to dismiss Right On Time as a calculated pose. There's a narrative at work in The Brought Low's best songs, chronicling existence in the inner-cities outer boroughs and the pratfalls of hard work, hard liquor and hard time. The essence of these stories mirror the band's own: the past couple years has been a repetition of arrivals and departures: family dying and being born, band members entering in and then walking out. There was a local new wave revival whose aesthetic they couldn't have less to do with, a cycle of touring, working, and touring again, a decrepit practice space that's become a decrepit second home. On the other side of the tunnel they've come out stronger, more resolute in their conviction, and wired for maximum impact. Singer/ guitarist/ songwriter Benjamin Howard Smith and drummer Nick Heller have been the nucleus of The Brought Low since the rolling thunder of their NYC debut in 1999. The band's universally-lauded self-titled debut album on Tee Pee Records earned them a loyal audience, and the howling overdrive of their impassioned live shows have become the stuff of city folklore. 2003 saw the addition of bassist Robert Russell as well as second guitarist Kevin Eleven, who left the band shortly after recording concluded, returning them to their original power trio format. Following the release of Right On Time, The Brought Low band has planned a series of guerilla tours throughout the country that will carry them well into the future. Right on Time, their first on Small Stone, was hailed as an instant classic by The Boston Phoenix, Lollipop, Roadburn and Stonerrock. Com among others. They say with youth comes energy and with age wisdom, but nobody told The Brought Low to slow down and wise up. Three records in and with countless shows under their belt, this New York City powerhouse power trio has set the benchmark for the sort of classic hard rock that the mainstream's long forgotten and the underground only claims to represent. You want a cheap, mass produced facsimile, I'm sure some by-the-numbers corporate act is overcharging for their tepid arena rock. You want generic bar rock, go to your local club. You want the real deal, go see The Brought Low. The band is renowned for their awesome live show and has shared the stage with such bands as Them Crooked Vultures, The Supersuckers and Nebula. For fans of: Humble Pie, Five Horse Johnson, Rolling Stones, Small Faces, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bad Companyhttp://smallstone. #bandcamp. com/album/right-on-timehttp://www. #facebook. com/pages/The-Brought-Low/303018842023https://twitter. Com/thebroughtlowhttp://www. #myspace. com/broughtlowTracklist: A Better Life Hail Mary This Aint No Game Tell Me Dear Ohio Throne Vernon Jackson Shake Down Blues For Cubby There's a Light