Album Reviews
THE POSTER CHILDREN
On the Offensive
(Hidden Agenda)
Champaign's veteran indie rock band the Poster Children shares its thoughts on the current administration with an EP of politically-charged covers. Jettisoning most of its dreamier aspects, the quartet recharges its punk rock roots with takes on the Clash's "Clampdown," X's "The New World" and Fear's "Let's Have a War." Those may seem like pretty obvious choices, but the group also digs into the catalogs of cult heroes Hüsker Dü ("Divide and Conquer") and XTC ("Complicated Game"), though the best tune is the hell-for-leather rip through synth pop pioneer Heaven 17's "We Don't Need This Fascist Groove Thang." As good as the covers are, though, for me the most clever thing about this disk is that all the songs come from the 80s, a tacit reminder of toward what state of affairs the current political winds blow us. Michael Toland [buy it]
JASON RINGENBERG
Empire Builders
(Courageous Chicken/Yep Roc)
As is fairly obvious from the title, this is former Jason & the Scorchers sparkplug Jason Ringenberg's political album. It says something about the times in which we live that an artist whose work rarely dwelled on social commentary feels compelled to speak out now. "New-Fashioned Imperialist" and the opening/closing duo "American Question" and "American Reprieve" relate directly to current events, while "Tuskegee Pride" and "Chief Joseph's Last Dream" look for lessons in historical injustices. "Rebel Flag in Germany," destined to be a Ringenberg classic, splits the difference. The singer/songwriter doesn't forget the personal issues either, penning a gorgeous love song ("She Hung the Moon [Until It Died])" and a pair of tributes, one to his dad ("Half the Man") and the other to a musical mentor ("Link Wray"). Wrapped mostly in old-fashioned country, folk and Sousa-like march arrangements and topped off with Ringenberg's personable twang, Empire Builders works both as a statement of opinion and as a musical document, a rare occurrence these days. Michael Toland [buy it]
RED SIMPSON
Roll, Truck, Roll
Truck Drivin' Fool
(Sundazed/EMI)
It may be hard to imagine now, but there once was a time when trucking songs were enough of a rage that a smart singer could make a career doing nothing but. Though Dave Dudley's "Six Days on the Road" kicked off this extremely niche-oriented C&W subgenre, Red Simpson was and is its foremost practitioner. Roll, Truck, Roll and Truck Drivin' Fool are Simpson's first two albums from the mid-60s and demonstrate just how much (ahem) mileage a talented writer and singer could get out of such a seemingly limited subject. The two records are pretty much interchangeable, but if you like the first one's "Nitro Express" and title cut, you'll probably want to hear the second one's "Piggyback Blues" and "Black Smoke a Blowin' Over 18 Wheels" as well. Michael Toland [buy Roll, Truck, Roll] [buy Truck Drivin' Fool]
SINGAPORE SLING
Life is Killing My Rock 'N' Roll
(Stinky)
Singapore Sling's Life is Killing My Rock 'N' Roll is a tighter, trippier and, above all, louder slab o' wax than its debut The Curse of Singapore Sling. Frontperson Henrik Björnsson mutters and croons over simple, mantra-like songs buried under enough fuzz to choke an industrial vacuum cleaner. The Icelandic quintet's update of psychedelic garage rock recalls the late 80s underground, when bands like Loop, Spacemen 3 and the Jesus & Mary Chain (by far the most visible ghost haunting these grooves) were ascending and My Bloody Valentine was just starting to achieve its vision. And while you could accuse SS of as much derivation as its fellow travelers in Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and the Raveonettes, its wild-eyed enthusiasm for its pilfered sounds and Björnsson's hardy melodies make Life is Killing My Rock 'N' Roll the most satisfying album of this stripe since 1987. Michael Toland Michael Toland [buy it]
KEVIN TIHISTA'S RED TERROR
Wake Up Captain
(Parasol)
I felt pretty lukewarm to Tihista's first couple of records, which I felt were accomplished but didn't live up to their inflated rep. His third one Wake Up Captain, however, is so good it makes me want to find those old records to see what I missed. Wake Up Captain is a loose song cycle about living with depression and loss but still finding the will to go on. On the catchy "It's Over," clever "Family Curse" and very Harry Nilssoneque "Good Wings," gorgeous melodies and shimmering production flow around Tihista's fragile but firm voice as he delicately rubs the dirt away, finding a diamond under the grime. A brilliant achievement in the tradition of, but not ripping off, luminaries like the Pernice Brothers, the Chamber Strings and the late Elliott Smith, Wake Up Captain elevates Kevin Tihista from the level of journeyman to master. Michael Toland [buy it]
THE WAXWINGS
Let's Make Our Descent
(Rainbow Quartz)
The Detroit MC5/Stooges rock & roll sound may be dead, at least within the city's borders, but there's still plenty of good Motor City power pop to be had. Case in point, the Waxwings and their third album Let's Make Our Descent. The band worships at the altar of the mid-60s, right as the Beatles were transforming into psychedelic walruses and the Kinks were still a kick-ass rock band, but that's par for the course for this kind of music. What's important is that the songs hold up, and tunes like "Never So Clear" and "Steady as Starlight" do so quite well. Amazingly not recorded by Jim Diamond at Ghetto Recorders (but by Detroit pop godfather Brendan Benson in his home studio instead), Let's Make Our Descent has enough of a kick to hint at its city of origin and enough melody to make you smile regardless. Michael Toland [buy it]
