Leroy is his real first name, but everyone calls him Eli. And 'From The North' is only half right — because although Eli Wulfmeier grew up in Michigan, he has been living in Los Angeles for years now. That ambiguity is also in My Favorite Gun, the new album by his band Leroy From The North: it sounds like seventies guitar rock, but is tighter and more melodic than the genre usually offers. Wulfmeier learned the trade partly the hard way. He was a member of The Wild Feathers for a time, a band put together by Interscope Records on the model of The Eagles — an experience he himself describes as an industrially-crafted boy band adventure. The lesson he drew from it: do it yourself, do it your own way. With Leroy From The North, he did exactly that. The band describes itself as a velour  tracksuit with a cowboy hat — americana and rock that blend into each other. The best point of comparison is The Sheepdogs: melodic, inventive, with vintage guitar notes and an energetic rhythm foundation. The background vocals are a strong weapon — multi-pointed harmonies that give the whole thing extra body without emphatically stepping into the foreground. The title track immediately sets the tone: compact, infectious, with a guitar line that lingers. “The War That Never Was” is darker cut. “Laid to Rest” stands out for a hard, infectious riff, the most pronounced rock moment on the album, while “I Belong” shows that the band can also slowly pick up the gas without sacrificing conviction. Wonderful discovery!