Philly’s Sheer Mag Fuse Seventies Rock Fuzz with a Rebel Yell

Now that's a logo that would make Ted Nugent drool

On the surface, Sheer Mag is a band that possesses the sweaty swagger and crackling-car-radio guitar licks of seventies cock rock – but this is no retro rehash, and the band’s songs are laced with messages of revolution. It’s a jarring juxtaposition that elicits further scrutiny.

I have a professor friend who told me that when he taught class, he’d ‘put the medicine in the ice cream’ – meaning that he’d hide a valuable lesson in an entertaining subject or activity. Sheer Mag is kinda like that.

Earlier this month, the band shared ‘Can’t Stop Fighting’ (listen below), a potent lament about violence against women in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. The song is a defiant, rebellious anthem; vocalist Christina Halladay howls, “we’re striking back baby, and you can find me in the vanguard.”

Most importantly, Sheer Mag is fun. According to vocalist Christina Halladay, the band’s name is short for ‘Sheer Magnitude.’ They live up to the name with huge chunky riffs, killer jukebox jams, and Halladay’s potent lyrics.