Two Austin residents, drummer, vocalist Lindsay Beaver and guitarist, vocalist Brad Stivers have teamed up to present a pretty impressive debut duo disc.

Put some blues injected heart, a few shots of soul and touches of rockabilly reverb together and voila, 12 songs that should give listeners a sound that has an identity that’s easy to discern from the pack.

While cruising through the set that is all original material, with the exception of the album closer, touchstones to stylistic imprints of eighties electric Americana roots, everything from The Paladins to The Fabulous Thunderbirds, abound.

That’s a good thing and the duo covers a lot of musical ground and tempos without ever coming so close to those influences to be accused of emulation.

Beaver is the stronger vocalist of the two but that doesn’t mean Stivers can’t handle his duties when called up and on a tune like Somebody Else Will, he delivers the lyrics like he’s lived knee deep in them.

Stivers’ cohort rings the bell a few times but interestingly enough Beaver’s finest moment vocally may well be on the ballad Take It Slow, where a perfect hint of Etta James caresses the well-crafted lyrics in both phrasing and timbre departments.

The two completely mesh as a duo on the album opener One Condition and eight tunes later on It’s Love.  Both tunes are driven by the two sharing the vocals and it’s that unison delivery that brings an entirely different tone and additional shot of power to the arrangements. So satisfying are these moments that one wonders why they weren’t mined a little bit more.

That said there are other stellar moments including the Stivers original instrumental tune Slim Pickin’, that is a showcase for his guitar playing. The tune arguably deserved to be set midway through the album rather than second to last in the set. Another highlight is the stone-cold blues tune Somebody Else Will penned by Beaver. She passed the lead vocal duties on to her partner who tears into the number while adding an inspired solo as Beaver’s tasty drumming plants the piece in a firm foundation.

There are some cool cameos early on, including an appearance by guitarist Kirk Fletcher on One Condition while gritty harp from Joe Murphy beefs up the loping groove of I Know What to Do.

Ms. Beaver pilots this album to its conclusion with a solitary and earnest solo guitar and vocal reading of “You’re So Fine”, the tune Johnny Burnette covered, as opposed to the Little Walter number. 

This is one listener who also looks forward to hearing these tunes in a live setting. (Peter North)