BUD BRONSON & THE GOOD TIMERS - Between the Outfield and Outer Space (LP)

On their sophomore full-length, Between the Outfield and Outer Space (BTOAOS), Bud Bronson & The Good Timers confronts the dawn of a morning they pretended would never come, examining their own foray into fantasy within a world that seems hell-bent on clinging to its own. Heavy? Yes. Bleak? Maybe. A downer? Hardly. While the band breaks into uncharted territory thematically — taking a harder look at long-championed BBGT tropes such as nostalgia, excess and willful ignorance — the music explodes with more urgency than ever. BTOAOS’ title track wastes little time broadcasting the album’s space-sized ambition, riding shimmering guitars into the outer reaches of the cosmos before “We Are The Champions (of the Basement)” lands squarely back on Earth, playing like the rec-room soundtrack to a Bruce Springsteen show after-party. Over the next 30+ minutes, BTOAOS seamlessly pays homage to the full spectrum of BBGT’s influences, from 1970s AOR and Rivers Cuomo fan-boy shredding to early-aug