Natural Child/Dead Sweaters/Shit-box Jimmy/Little Bighorn

Natural Child sludges up the songs on its latest album, Hard in Heaven, with the kind of distortion that was so popular in the ’70s. Not quite heavy enough to classify as a stoner rock band, the guys have drawn comparisons to the Rolling Stones and Neil Young. Songs like the bluesy “What You Gonna Do” and “Derek’s Blues” certainly have a Stones vibe to them. And the timid “Hard in Heaven” has elements of Neil Young, what with its aching vocals and off-key harmonies. But these guys are garage rockers at heart (though they reveal their Southern roots on the album closing “Let the Good Times Roll”) and you can bet they’ll have the guitars cranked when they play tonight at Now That’s Class. (Jeff Niesel)