Written by: Dave Cantrell

Here’s how their publicist, very astutely, describes HUGElarge: “2 dapper gents + 1 cocktail drum + 1 Teisco guitar plugged into a 12 watt amplifier = a great self-titled debut album.” Seeing as how said publicist is himself a long-time participant in the rock wars, it’s no surprise his impromptu street combo math is spot on. HUGElarge are a duo consisting of guitar man/vocalist Robert Malta (ex- of Pawpawblowtorch among many others) and stand-up drummer – and no doubt stand-up guy – Matt Norelli (American Music Club) fulfilling an offhand fantasy of sorts to put together a banging album of covers (and a couple originals) in the style of original era garage bands, albeit one with an idiosyncratic, modern drive that suggests the juggernauts of of the Black Keys and the White Stripes minus the hype, drama, or tabloid attentions. The result is an album of straight-up, unpretentious pop’n’roll that boasts the easy honesty of Jonathan Richmond mixed with the verve and twang of any Nuggets-style comp you’d care to mention. From their self-titled debut album (via HWY 61), SEM is happy and proud to present this exclusive first listen to the band’s cover of the 1959 Impalas hit “Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home).” True rock is back, once again.