★★★★★
Tweet A Blast from the Past At first glance, he looks like a Buddy Holly-era transplant. At first listen, he sounds out of this time period. LA musician and producer Nick Waterhouse's second album, Holly, is a complete blast from the past. He stays true to his retro rock sound and pulls the listener in with each groove. The opening notes of "This Is A Game" feature gritty horn (heavy on the bari sax) and guitar riffs...
- www.mxdwn.com
2014-04-19
★★★★★
Timeless is a word that's often bandied about, particularly when discussing modern records with a distinctly nostalgic vibe. It's a word that springs to mind when listening to Holly, the second record from Californian singer Nick Waterhouse. Awash with whirling electric organ chords, muted guitar riffs and sharp bursts of horns, it's certainly evocative of a particular time in American music history...
- www.thefourohfive.com
2014-03-27
★★★★★
Don't be fooled by the horns: Though Nick Waterhouse is often lumped in with soul revivalists like Sharon Jones, the Los Angeles singer, songwriter and guitarist would be the first to tell you that's not his scene. He's got soul, to be sure, but really, Waterhouse is a rocker at heart--one whose music just happens to reflect his appreciation for vintage R&B without fully falling back on it...
- www.pastemagazine.com
2014-03-05
★★★★★
Nick Waterhouse breathes and lives 1960s soul-- halcyon days of classic surf, gray suit jackets, slicked-back hairdos, thick-rimmed glasses and sock-hop swing. Waterhouse's sophomore album, Holly, brings back that seamless blend of '60s throwback and presents a work more mature than his first piece of wax, each groove more grounded and laid-back, digging up darker qualities of the era...
- filtermagazine.com
2014-03-05
★★★★★
Nick Waterhouse looks like Elvis Costello and sings like a smoother Dan Auerbach. He writes tight, short songs that would make Bert Bern of Twist And Shout fame proud. You can imagine that he and Van Morrison have a similar record collection, including the Irish bard's own classics. Unlike other genre-resurging acts like The Allah-las, Tame Impala, Ty Segall or Foxygen, Waterhouse's main well of inspiration is not classic '60s rock and roll, but R&B and soul, the kind you listened to in the...
- www.musicomh.com
2014-03-04
★★★★★
On his debut album, Time's All Gone, Nick Waterhouse plays a mixture of early rock and roll, blues, and soul. Waterhouse hails from California, and he was born in 1987, but his sound is that of his parents' childhood: the 50s. In that decade, Waterhouse's favored genres were still closely intertwined, before they began developing their separate identities in the 60s - either a coming of age or a devolution, depending on your tastes...
- www.popmatters.com
2012-08-13
★★★★★
Outfitted with booming brass, vibrant backing vocals and more, Nick Waterhouse's debut sounds as if it was spinning at 45 revolutions per minute. While his voice gets overpowered by the sheer energy of this '60s soul revival at times, Waterhouse lets loose a held-out note or a fervent wail to let you know he's got the chops. Time's All Gone takes you back in the day and pulls you into the moment all at once.
- filtermagazine.com
2012-05-07
★★★★★
Is the appeal of 'retro soul' starting to die out? The international success, both critically and commercially, of Amy Winehouse's Back To Black lay down the rails for a veritable gravy train of artists happy to cash in on that success. Some have derailed; perhaps the record-buying public might just be ready for something else? If so, all things considered, it's not a great time for 25-year-old Nick Waterhouse to release his debut effort Time's All Gone. All the trademarks are there...
- www.musicomh.com
2012-05-03