Stayin' in the Doghouse (Upstart, 1997)

The Vidalias offer their sweet sounding brand of country with a rock edge in the Jason & The Scorchers vein and more spare sounding songs. The combination works well for the quintet with vocalist Charles Walston proving usually capable of handling the varying styles.

Being down in the dumps over love is the general theme here from the get go with "Misery Loves Company,' recalling Jason to the mid-tempo roll of "Whole Lotta Doin' Without," which sounds like it was written for Junior Brown, and "What a Nice Surprise," recalling Dwight Yoakam with Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls offering nice backing harmonies. They tackle The Ramones' "Questioningly" which Queens' finest would not even recognize, but oughtta like a lot. A few tracks prove mediocre (the tender sounding "Fashion Lasts Forever" the too long "Such a Mystery").

The Georgians offer nothing you haven't heard before. In fact, the band is far from original, wearing some influences on their sleeves. But that doesn't belie an album that ought to keep them out of the doghouse.