Pat Briggs and the T-Birds
First Sun
Self-Released
Street: 09.07.11
First Sun =  Blind Melon + Roxy 
Music + Dispatch
This album reminds me of the best band you heard at a college party in the late ’90s and could never remember the name of—but I mean that in the best way.  The instrumentation is softer rock, all shining guitars and thoughtful and adept rhythm-section backups.  First Sun seems to owe as much to classic blues as it does to coffee-shop ballads, but pays homage to house-band standards like reggae and funk.  This would make amazing driving music, cruising anywhere with prairies and big, expansive skies.  “Bright New Day” is upbeat and lively, and the album opens with the raucous swagger of “Burn This House Down,” but the overall pace is slower, showing off some tight playing and strong vocals from Pat Briggs himself.