Indie Roundup: Miss Ohio's latest album, 'White Hot' is American rock with heart

Indie rock band Miss Ohio released their album “White Hot” recently, and the first single from the record is “Magnet." The down home American rockers hail from New Jersey, and have been recording music together for over a decade, while touring in and around the New York City area. The band consists of David Wilson on guitar and vocals, Ed Roessler on guitar, Brandon Loikits plays drums, and Pietro Lorino takes care of bass.

White hot

For audiences not familiar with Miss Ohio, the new album, “White Hot” will make the perfect introduction to the band since it is a compilation of some of their best tracks from over the years. The folksy alt-American rock of this band sounds familiar but still manages to set itself apart with moving lyrics and rustic rock melodies. The sort of music Miss Ohio creates is straightforward, charged with sentiment, and meticulously crafted to evoke that hot cup of cocoa on a cold winter’s morning type sensation. The production quality of the music is superb, and the group could teach more mainstream bands a thing or two about laying down tight harmonies on tracks that actually compliment the vocalist’s singing as opposed to revealing a singer’s lack of pitch.

That being said, Wilson’s vocals on the tracks are a soothing blend of introspection and optimism -- delivered perfectly.

Standouts

Some of the standout tracks on the new album are “Magnet," “Divine Order," and “Bobby Fischer," My favorite song out of the three is probably the funky, guitar-driven “Divine Order." “Magnet” reminds me somewhat of a Counting Crows tune with its expansive soundscape and plain, spoken charm about it. Fans of the Counting Crows and other artists such as The Dave Matthews Band, Iron and Wine, or The Decemberists probably will dig Miss Ohio’s brand of rock.

Playlist-worthy?

So is Miss Ohio’s latest offering worthy of an addition to your playlist? In my humble opinion, the answer is a resounding yes. “White Hot” is the sort of album you can just turn on and not have to worry about skipping to your favorite track because every track is that good. Miss Ohio’s “White Hot” is available now.