Album Reviews

HONKY
Balls Out Inn
(Small Stone)
Ladies and gentlemen, the fabulous Honky. Led by former Butthole Surfer Jeff Pinkus, this Austin-based power trio has been pulverizing eardrums and making inappropriate passes for nearly a decade now. As such, the band has honed its ZZ Top-fondling-Black Sabbath sound to a razor sheen on Balls Out Inn (cover featuring a landmark with which Austinites and touring bands will be quite familiar). With Pinkus' scratch-acid singing at the vanguard, "Undertaker," "Walkin' on Moonshine" and "Plugs, Mugs, and Jugs" are as polished as possible for such a dirty bunch. Bits of slide and acoustic guitars and fiddle break up any threat of monotony, and Pinkus' big rawk hooks hit hard and fast. Take a room at the Balls Out Inn and find out what Austin decadence is all about. Michael Toland [buy it]

HOPEWELL
Hopewell & the Birds of Appetite
(Tee Pee)
One could argue that there's little on Hopewell & the Birds of Appetite that hasn't been done before by the Flaming Lips, Grandaddy or Mercury Rev. But that would be a valid argument only if Hopewell's third album sucked. And it most certainly does not. The New York quintet weaves lovely melodies, quirky lyrics and well-balanced arrangements into a near-perfect psychedelic tapestry on "Kings & Queens," "Calcutta" and the gorgeous "Synthetic Symphony," easily equaling anything by its inspirations. Frontperson Jason Russo boasts a somewhat bratty tone, making me wonder if there's a glam rock band in his past somewhere instead of time spent touring with the Rev. Regardless, his decadent twang fits the luscious tunes perfectly, making Hopewell & the Birds of Appetite a tastier psychedelic snack. Michael Toland [buy it]

THE HOWLING HEX
All-Night Fox
(Drag City)
When slop rock deity Royal Trux fell apart, I figured its two principals Neil Michael Hagerty and Jennifer Herrera would go on to make music even more anarchic and endurance-testing. That's not been the case; Herrera's exploring her pop-metal side with RTX, while Hagerty is also pursuing the advantages of song structure with the Howling Hex. That's not to say All-Night Fox is slick, mind you, or even particularly cuddly. But tunes like "Activity Risks," "Instilled With Mem'ry" and "What, Man? Who Are You?!" have recognizable riffs, primitive melodies and basic grooves, and his unnamed new female foil sing like an angel. (A grubby, found-in-the-alley-with-her-wings-torn-off angel, but still.) Hagerty himself sounds like Tom Verlaine channeling Mick Jagger, which works nicely for these lo-fi garage rockers, but may not be to everyone's taste. Trux fans will be pleased, and non-Trux fans might very well find All-Night Fox to their liking as well. Michael Toland [buy it]

THE JESSICA FLETCHERS
Less Sophistication
(Rainbow Quartz)
Norway's Jessica Fletchers play unabashed, unrefined 60s-style guitar pop, with some psychedelic sparkles on their shoulders. The quintet is doing the same thing a million bands are doing, really. That said, either I've become an old softie or Less Sophistication is a brilliant record, because I find it irresistible. Snappy little sugar rushes like "I Need Love," "Magic Bar" and the magnificent (and, here in Texas at least, entirely appropriate) "Summer Holiday & Me" scratch that certain itch as well anything by the Kinks or the Pretty Things. Less Sophistication is great stuff. Michael Toland [buy it]

CAROLE KING
The Living Room Tour
(Concord)
Songwriter Carole King seems to have fallen off the general public's radar in the past couple of decades, despite having massive success as both writer and artist in the 60s and 70s. She set the standard for the Me Decade singer/songwriter movement, and it's nice to know she's not resting on her laurels. Well, not too much, anyway—this double live disk has the tunes for which she's best known ("It's Too Late," "So Far Away," (You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman," a medley of songs she wrote with Gerry Goffin in the 60s), but there's plenty of more recent, lesser known material as well. Working with a couple of guitar-strumming sidemen and performing with a confident dignity, King gives her tunes straightforward readings, letting the melodies work their magic without anything fussy getting in the way. Not everything is a gem—the duet "Loving You Forever" is particularly sappy—but over all The Living Room Tour is a nice reminder that Carole King is an icon for damn good reason. Michael Toland [buy it]

AL KOOPER
Black Coffee
(Favored Nations)
A list of Al Kooper's accomplishments would be longer than any review of this album, so suffice it to say that the producer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/singer/author has seen and done it all in his 45-year music biz career. (If you really want the scoop, haunt used bookstores looking for his book Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards, the greatest rock autobiography in history.) Black Coffee is Kooper's first solo album since the 70s, and nicely reflects the blend of R&B, pop and blues he's perfected over the decades. The sultry soul of "Imaginary Lover," the choogling blues of "Get Ready" (a nicely re-imagined take on the Temptations classic), the bittersweet pop of "Keep It to Yourself," the sardonic introspection of "Going, Going, Gone" (co-written with the great Dan Penn), the haunted rock of "Childish Love" and the no-bullshit R&B balladry of "(I Want You to) Tell Me the Truth" are all testament to just how much talent oozes from this man's fingers, throat and brainstem. He even revitalizes the hoary standard "Green Onions," playing it with the kind of glee usually associated with younger acts. Welcome back, Al, please don't stay away so long from now on. Michael Toland [buy it]

KRAFTWERK
Minimum-Maximum
(Astralwerks)
The band Kraftwerk is a product of the 70s, so it's only natural that the pioneering electronic ensemble does now what it didn't do in the Me Decade: release the obligatory double-live album. A document of the quartet's triumphant 2004 tour (its first almost two decades), Minimum-Maximum covers several European cities, 22 songs and the audience's polite but reverent applause (except for "Music Non Stop," which gets a big ovation). As for the music, it's hard to say how much of it is "performed" in the literal sense. The concert shots in the booklet show the four members in front of laptop-equipped keyboard stands, and the melodies are so repetitious (deliberately so, that is) you have to wonder why four guys are needed in the first place. Which isn't to say that much of this record isn't compelling. One thing the legions of digital warriors that have marched in Kraftwerk's wake have missed is the band's devotion to melody, minimalist though it may be, and "The Model," "Tour De France" and the infamous "Autobahn" have plenty of that. Non-fans may miss the traditional energy normally associated with rock concerts, but the precision makes this the greatest hits record the band hasn't bothered to assemble. Michael Toland [buy it]

MEAT BEAT MANIFESTO
At the Center
(Thirsty Ear)
Jack Dangers, AKA Meat Beat Manifesto, has been a star in the world of electronic dance and art music for a couple of decades. At the Center, part of Thirsty Ear's Blue Series, finds Dangers collaborating with New York keyboardist Craig Taborn, flautist Peter Gordon and drummer Dave King. Using his various basses (guitar, flute, clarinet), Dangers joins King in organizing a funky groove while Gordon and Taborn (favoring acoustic and electric piano) color in and out of the lines. Dangers' dub-dusted mix provides texture. Cuts like "Musica Classica" and "Wild" are more organic than electronic, and would work on the dance floor, in the chill-out room or on stage at your local jazz club. I admit, I was skeptical about this project, but At the Center works quite well. Michael Toland [buy it]

MISTRESS
In Disgust We Trust
(Earache)
With this sobriquet, I'd've expected Mistress to sport lipstick and sing camped-up odes to cocaine and blowjobs in the back seat of the Ferrari. But this young English quintet comes from Birmingham, the working class birthplace of Black Sabbath and Napalm Death, and doesn't have a glamorpuss bone in its loud, angry body. Everything on In Disgust We Trust is delivered at a vein-popping roar, amps on stun, vocals on rend and attitude at a feverishly revolted pitch. The riffs battle their way to the front of the onslaught, keeping tunes like "Alcohole," "At Arms Length" and the charming "Fucking Fuck" from being just smears of undifferentiated noise. Hell, "Static" even has a soaring Iron Maidenesque melody. This is a fistful of metal up your ass and other sundry orifices. Michael Toland [buy it]

THE MORELLS
Think About It
(HighTone)
Call 'em the Morells or call 'em the Skeletons, but a rose by any other name is still an old-fashioned good time. Guitarist D. Clinton Thompson and bassist Lou Whitney have led various permutations of this Springfield outfit for nearly 30 years, and never fail to deliver smiles on their far too infrequent albums. Clinton's personable singing and amazing guitar work lead the way on country/rock/pop originals like "She's Gone," "Cool Summer" and the nifty instrumental "Popbelly." Whitney applies his lecherous growl to covers of Chuck Berry's "Nadine" and the semi-standard "How Come My Dog Don't Bark," keeping the bottom end rock-solid with drummer Ron Gremp. As with every project involving these guys, there's a palpable sense that everybody's having a good time, and it's impossible for the listener not to join in the good vibes. Michael Toland [buy it]