Aural Fixations

RYAN ADAMS
Rock N Roll
Love is Hell, Pt. 1
Love is Hell, Pt. 2
(Lost Highway)
We've all heard the story by now: controversial wunderkind Ryan Adams makes record that's rejected by the label, which demands another album; Adams responds with quick 'n' dirty rock record, talks label into releasing original opus in EP form. Who knows how much of this tale is true—Adams is a master of self-mythology, but releasing Love is Hell as a pair of EPs instead of as an album makes absolutely no sense. If true, however, the president of Lost Highway should be beaten about the head and shoulders with a stack of John Lennon records, because Love is Hell is arguably the major creative statement to which Adams' career has been building. (more)

THE BLOOD SHOT
Wake Up and Die Right
(Garage D'or)
On its debut album Wake Up and Die Right, Minneapolis three-piece the Blood Shot smashes open the garage door and shows off its collection of Eurohorror DVDs, serial killer biographies and suspiciously human-looking skulls. Led by the wild-eyed Andrew Kereakos, the trio spits out piranhas of sound, all teeth and hair and eyeballs, angrily blurring any lines between Black Sabbath, Spacemen 3 and the Nuggets compilation. (more)

SPIRITUALIZED
Amazing Grace
(Spaceman/Sanctuary)
Led by former Spacemen 3 guitarist Jason Spaceman (ne Pierce, and boy, I bet he's tired of seeing that), Spiritualized is one of the most well-respected and beloved British psychedelic rock bands of the past decade. Spaceman's ambition has led to widescreen pop melodies powered by multiple guitars, keyboards, etc., with garnishing by choirs and orchestras—a far cry from the garage-bound fuzz rock of his prior combo. His records are powered by the unshakable belief that rock & roll matters as something besides light entertainment; Spaceman is a true believer. And yet, speaking only for myself, I've never really been able to get into Spiritualized. (more)

THE STREETWALKIN' CHEETAHS
Gainesville
(Triple X)
Maximum Overdrive
(Alive)
The Streetwalkin' Cheetahs have proven themselves to be that rare punk rock band that actually evolves; its members are too ambitious to settle for the same old three-chord raveups and inchoate anger. No better case for this can be made than the quartet's latest slab o' riffage Gainesville. In the first three cuts alone, the Cheetahs stomp merrily through Beatlesque pop ("Good Morning"), thrashing punk ("Strangled By Love") and their own distinctive update on the MC5's high-energy rock & roll ("When God and the Devil Agree"). (more)