Hmmm. No sooner have I bitched about the paucity of good rock 'n roll when I get slapped in the head with three excellent records. And what do they have in common? Well, nothing, but only one of the three was by a band I already had a record by. But it's so different from their other one that it almost doesn't count.
This is an early and short take with the grades subject to adjustment (even more than usual).
Spiritualized: Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space (1997)
First, the drug record (see cover), which is reminiscent of many late-sixties jam-mish records, none of which I can quite name.
Almost every melody sounds "pre-owned" but that's not necessarily a problem. In my book, if it doesn't immediately make you think of the other song, it gets a pass. And the only time that happens here is on the last tune, which nicks the riff and overall vibe from "Out of the Blue" - the first cut on the Apple Jam (see?) disc from All Things Must Pass. Which I like!
The lyrics aren't going to win any prizes with phrases like come together and I so too can rock and roll (or something like that), etc., but they're not so awful as to be distracting. And they're sung with so much stoned... commitment that I just go with the flow. A bit like Lonerism but with a higher dosage.
A bit long, but they're on another clock altogether.
Graded leniently, for the feeling of nostalgia it gives me for some other album I've never really heard.
A-
TV on the Radio: Dear Science (2008)
Second, the formerly-arty-but-now-a-little-more-down-to-earth band
Last time out these guys exhausted me with volume, song length, noise, and depressive subject matter. This time there's less of the first three, more rhythm/singing/melody, which almost by definition means less of the fourth thing.
There is almost a sense of humor here.
I love when an artist sticks to his/her vision (a la Neil Young) but sometimes you can do more with less.
Graded cautiously because there's a lot to take in here.
A-
And finally, the political rock 'n rollers.
For the last few years, I've been partial to the more poppish/melodic bands with female vocalists singing real pretty.
This is more sleazy rock n' roll and gnarly guitar riffs with the smart as hell female vocalist with a lot to say. Luckily, she's - and I hesitate to use this phrase as an actual compliment in a rock n' roll context - Very Well Informed.
That might seem...exhausting, but it's not. Each song is a waterfall of words buoyed by a swaggering band charging ever forward. They've got more than a little Clash and Mekons in them.
Just thirty minutes, but damn near exhilarating.
A-
Grand Ending Statement (that would take too much work to dispute):
So I'm beginning to think we have moved from the era when a small handful of geniuses consistently made the hugest chunk of the great music to one in which many many different people each do a little piece of it.
That or I'm just a music slut.
