August 2009 (Relix)

1. COMPILED
BY
MIKE
GREENHAUS
fear. About two minutes in, she segues
The Dead Weather from singing to—barking like a dolphin. The Mars Volta Mark Karan
Horehound So all is as it should be. Though Spektor Octahedron Walk Through the Fire
WEA/REPRISE hasn’t lost her pluck, her worldview has WARNER BROS. QUACKTONE RECORDS
When Jack White drops definitely evolved since 2006’s quiet Less abrasive than The Something special can
the axe and moves to blockbuster Begin to Hope. On Hope, Mars Volta’s previous happen when a group of
the skins, you might Spektor’s lyrics were mostly intimate efforts, Octahedron has talented sidemen come
imagine that things affairs, while on Far, she takes a step been described by mas- together to form a band
could get interesting. back—a vision perhaps informed by the termind Omar or to help realize one
When Queens of the Stone Age gui- worldwide touring that took her away Rodriguez-Lopez as the band’s version man’s vision for an album. Mark Karan,
tarist/keyboardist Dean Fertita then gets from the narrow New York City streets. of an acoustic album. So it is fitting that best known as RatDog’s lead guitarist
behind the guitar, Raconteurs multi- Through her piano-driven portraits, the the album opens with a few guitar for over a decade, has pulled together a
instrumentalist “Little Jack” Lawrence singer muses on faith, the universe and plucks on “Since We’ve Been Wrong.” core group for his new, self-produced
plugs in on bass, and Kills frontwoman identity. The album plays up Spektor’s Yet, the record is far from an unplugged Walk Through the Fire, including drum-
Alison Mosshart grabs the mic, you impressive vocal range. Within many of affair: Thomas Pridgen’s thunderous mer John Molo (Phil Lesh and Friends),
know damn well that things are going to the 13 tracks, her voice transitions from drumming still drives the band, while keyboardist JT Thomas (Bruce
get very interesting. Fast. Sharing obvi- a gallop to a near whisper and back John Frusciante’s virtuosic guitar work Hornsby) and Hutch Hutchinson
ous traits with the cast’s “other” bands, again. On Far, Spektor also worked with shines on tracks like the groovy, free- (Bonnie Raitt), along with a host of
The Dead Weather delivers a sum four stylistically different producers— form “Luciforms” and ferocious guests. Although it covers a wide range
greater than its parts while retaining the Jeff Lynne (ELO, Tom Petty), Mike “Cotopaxi.” Throughout, lyricist Cedric of styles—from the slow blues of
sense that White’s in the driver’s seat. Elizondo (Dr. Dre, Fiona Apple), Garrett Bixler-Zavala’s crisp vocals carve Robert Johnson’s “Love in Vain” to the
His bandmates recently confessed that “Jacknife” Lee (U2, R.E.M.) and David through the group’s signature, though pop sensibilities of “Leave a Light
they don’t know exactly what the song Kahn (The Strokes)— and you can hear less overwhelming than usual psyche- On” to the beautiful “Memphis Radio”—
“I Cut Like a Buffalo” is about, but they’re each one’s subtle impact on their delic dissonance and chaotic distor- the disc returns again and again to a
obsessed with it. So are we. tracks. Daring, playful and Spektor’s tion. Each track also segues into the warm, comfortable, Americana vibe,
Benjy Eisen most polished work to date, Far is the next with a similar kind of drone and like lazy West Coast rock and roll
mark of an artist embracing noise that is refreshingly mitigated. with a little NOLA shuffle underneath.
Street Sweeper Social Club expansion. Margaret Rose Matt Franciscovich It has the flavor of Little Feat in tunes
Street Sweeper Social Club
STREET SWEEPER SOCIAL CLUB
The very first clunky riff
of off the debut by Street
Sweeper Social Club
sounds eerily similar to
old Rage Against the
Machine material. But this “super-
group”—comprised of Tom Morello and
rapper Boots Riley (Stanton Moore sits in
on drums for the album)—is actually
forging new material; it just doesn’t
sound that way. The unfortunate fact of
the matter is that Morello has been
milking a style that was good for one
band and a couple albums of material.
Now, nearly 20 years after Rage’s semi-
nal album—wow, was it really that long
ago?—those patented Morello riffs
sound more like a washed-up comedi-
an’s tired banter than the kind of fresh
material that Morello must be aiming
for. Possibly even worse, Riley’s vocal
stylings couldn’t get more clichéd.
Mike Thomas
Regina Spektor
Far
SIRE
If you’re worried about
Regina Spektor selling
out, the song “Folding
Chair” off of her latest, Regina Spektor
Far, should dispel all
AUGUST_SEPTEMBER 2009 | RELIX 65