Jonas - Jonas

Montreal has always been a bastion of hard rock, from Mahogany Rush and Aldo Nova to Sass Jordan. Jonas Tomalty has clearly been raised on such sounds. On his debut album, the 25-year-old singer delivers a raunchy swagger on songs by Stevie Nicks and Aerosmith’s Steve Tyler and Joe Perry. But he doesn’t pull it off. He’s more convincing on the straight-ahead blues of “Like a River” or an original ballad like “By the Bed.” Despite his arena-rock aspirations, Tomalty is better suited to barroom blues.