Album Review- The Libertines- All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade

The Libertines were one of my favorite bands of the early 2000s. They had two albums which were pretty fantastic (2002s Up the Bracket and 2004s self titled). The best thing about them (or worst if you were a critic) was that they combined the sound of the Smiths and the Clash. That said, they became a supporting act for Morrissey and Mick Jones produced the band’s first album. Of course, the two frontmen - Pete Doherty and Carl Barat had separate careers but they were never as good apart as they were together. The band unexpectedly reunited to release Anthems of Doomed Youth in 2015. 

Although the first two albums are elevated by history, Anthems is a great album. It didn’t get a ton of publicity but in my eyes, really captures what is great about the band. I am a huge fan of Doherty, who was a self- destructive punchline for a time. 2019s Puta Madres and 2022s collaboration with Frederic Lo- The Fantasy Life of Poetry and Crime are some of his best solo work. 

We are now another nine years before we have another album, but we now have All Quiet on Eastern Esplanade. The Libertines can be captured with the album reviews for the recent disc. Critics aren’t interested and reviews are not glowing. Yet, on user based sites, Libertines fans seem to love it. So it goes. 

The most interesting thing might be that All Quiet sounds like a band’s fourth album (even if for most bands that time span might be seven years, and in this case it’s 22). But it’s a benefit that the album sounds like an act of growth and not some flimsy attempt to copy a certain sound. The band selected Dimitri Tikovoi (Placebo, Blondie, White Honey) producer and he gives it a pretty slick sound (Tikovoi also produced one of my favorite records- I’ll Gotten Gains by Michael J Sheehy) that might not capture the punk sound the way that Jones did, but captures the poppier side. 

A band that has always been defined in terms of cultural references. There are two songs that sound like they could be classic alternative covers (they’re not) - “Run Run Run” and “Oh Sh*t” and “Night of the Hunter” like the Mitchum movie. “Merry Old England” is a bit of the band’s Anglophilia they have always had a la Kinks/ Smiths/Jam and the strongest moment. There are a few songs that sound classic like “Be Young” and some that expand the sound “Shimmer”. There’s few clunkers. (“Oh Sh— was one of the singles but it may be the weakest song here) The album ends with “Songs they never play on the Radio” (another borrowed title-the name of a Nico biography) a fitting Beatlesque finale of a Doherty song from the early days of Babyshambles. While fans might slot this as the fourth of four albums in quality (which it likely is), I can see why Libertines fans are happy. I am more than happy with it.

Album Review- Old 97s- American Primitive

 My favorite band of the late 90s early Alt Country days is and was the Old 97s. They never seemed to get the attention that Wilco, Son Volt, the Jayhawks, or even Whiskeytown did, but they have hung around now that they have got their due. I always thought the band broke up between their 2004 and 2008 records but I am not sure that they did. 

In any case, Drag It Up is perhaps their low point and after that four year layoff, they have come back with one great album after another. American Primitive is their fourth album in the last decade (fifth really - but one is a Christmas album). All of these albums are good but they all have different feels. 2017s Graveyard Whistling is probably my favorite but there is no wrong answer. (I may have thought the band broke up when Rhett Miller released 2006s The Believer. However, his solo career has run concurrently with the band. 

I saw the band live in 2022 when Rhett’s album The Misfit was only a couple of weeks old. While I don’t think Rhett’s album are quite as consistent as the band’s- but the catalog is still quite good). American Primitive comes with an entirely different feel and though surely the band is due an inferior album, this isn’t that. It’s another worthwhile addition to the catalog. 

Recorded and imagined as an album to catch the live feel of the band. American Primitive is at once a Stephen King reference and a reference to the Musical style made famous by John Fahey. This album is their first to be produced by Tucker Martine who has produced a good deal of respected Americana artists like My Morning Jacket, Laura Veirs and the Decemberists. Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey show up in guest spots too. However you rate it, there are a few songs like Falling Down that will be additions for Old 97s playlists for years to come.

Concert Review- Southern Culture On the Skids

 One of the bands that I discovered in College Radio was Southern Culture on the Skids. I mean if you have an album named Too Much Pork for Just One Fork, you are going to stand out. The band goes back to 1983 but albums like 1992s For Lovers Only and 1993s Peckin Party EP was putting them on the map. In 1996, they got their major label moment with Geffen’s DGC indie label and although it did not set the world on fire, did gather some attention and musically is probably the best distillation of the band’s sound. The band’s next two albums were able to keep them in the indie spotlight until 2000, and I hate to say it, but I kind of lost track of their band. 

But the band didn’t stop and to their credit, as the world shut down for Covid, SCOTS was trying their best to take advantage of the downtime and released a fantastic album - 2001s At Home With… Before Covid, they had been a touring workhorse, yet somehow I never managed to see them When I found they were playing the local 250 capacity venue, attending the show became my number one priority. The opening band was the Surf Zombies. The Cedar Rapids based band are bona fide local legends, and whereas I usually think of that term as diminutive, in this case, they are a fantastic band - as good as any surf band whose only nearby body of water might be the Des Moines River. 

Whether the audience were brought in by the opener, or by the surf and rockabilly advertised, it was certainly an older crowd. I am not sure what the typical SCOTS crowd would be, but the fabulous folks in their 50s, 60s and 70s outperform their younger (possibly nu metal listening) peers. Iowa is a weird place. SCOTS has a unique niche. It’s almost impossible to describe them without some comparison to the B-52s and the Cramps. Besides the retro obsession and rockabilly and surf influences, there lies the “white trash” celebration that might fit between John Waters and Mike Judge’s King of the Hill. Or is it satire. Songs like “My House has Wheels” don’t make the answer any clearer. No surprise most may know them from the Rob Zombie curated 1998 album Halloween Hootenany, and the band took a moment during the concert to acknowledge the recent passing of Roger Corman as they performed Zombiefied (not the Alien Sex Fiend) and Goo Goo Muck (the Gaylads song made famous by the Cramps) As much as the music, the band is known for throwing Oatmeal Creme Pies, Fried Chicken and (not today) Banana Pudding into the crowd. Which is as great as it sounds. 

Age suits frontman Rick Miller. Now in his late 60s, he really resembles a King of the Hill or Squidbillies character. Bassist Mary Huff may be one of the unheralded female indie musicians of the 90s. She proves a nice counterpoint to Miller and she can sing as if she was born to be a 1950s or 60s country chanteuse. Drummer Dave Hartman is quietly amazing. He doesn’t say much but they moved him so he is pretty much in line of sight with the other two. I suspect that the band’s schtick hasn’t changed over the years, but it’s still hard to beat a group that gets fans onstage to sing about fried chicken and I was so glad I got to see them and definitely recommend them.

Concert Review- Violent Femmes

My adopted hometown has seen some ups and downs as far as bands coming through. It will always fall second to neighboring cities like Kansas City and Minneapolis, even failing in comparison to Omaha. The one thing that makes up for it is that the concerts are usually more intimate affairs. I worry Des Moines doesn’t draw, though. In any case the last couple of years, two venues really did the hard lifting. There is an arena football stadium for the big names, of course. Also a 1200 person theater that usually focuses on songwriters. 

But Des Moines losing a cool 200 capacity venue felt awful - one has finally sprung up in its place. Now, a new spot has been built and is being sponsored by Live Nation will bring in some large names. Bands like The Black Crowes, Pixies, Chicago and Gladys Knight have been some of the first to play here. But somewhere in here, the downside and upside is also augmented by the remodeling of the Val Air Ballroom. I had only been there to see Wilco, pro wrestling and MMA. A history that goes back over a century. The image draws forth images of 40s and 50s big bands but the renovation caused it to close for a year and a half. Anyone who is anyone has come through and I just don’t get to too many concerts anymore but I am glad I got out to see the Violent Femmes. 

The Femmes are touring behind the 40th anniversary of their second album Hallowed Ground. They had been touring last year on the 40th of their first album, so this tour is featuring both played in their entirety. That doesn’t leave much for a Greatest Hits but they have been doing two song encores and we got American Music and I Held Her in my Arms. I hadn’t spent a lot of time with Hallowed Ground but I of course knew the first song which is a great opener. Country Death Song In retrospect, I am not sure that the Femmes get their dues as the roots of Americana. Released in 1984, I know Nick Cave and others were doing Goth country in Australia, it’s really kind of a late 90s/early 00s thing with Johnny Cash’s Rick Rubin albums kind of opening the genre and bands like BR549, the Handsome Family, Th’ Legendary Shakeshackers, Slim Cessna and 16 Horsepower bringing old school country death ballads to a rock audience. 

The Femmes were doing it before that with this album, of course. Like 16 Horsepower, audiences weren’t sure that Gordon Gano was mining from Christian lore or an actual Christian. Famously, he was the latter. (Brian Ritchie, however is an atheist and has always been a tense counterpoint to Gano. An 2018 interview with Gano in Magnet suggested the two’s interactions with each other are completely limited to band performances) Hallowed Ground is not quite the album the debut is but it is an interesting album with a lot of highlights like “I Hear the Rain”. Gano played expertly on guitar and fiddle, Ritchie on his unique bass and drummer John Sparrow on two snares and a charcoal grill. Gano’s voice is exactly as it sounds on record. 

The insecure frustrated teenager who wrote this album. I always think Modern Lovers-era Jonathan Richman is the prototype and dozens of 90s indie frontmen the progeny but Gano might be the best to ever portray that angst correctly. The band as always was accompanied by the Horns of Dilemma. Gano came out for the second set with his long hair down and the kind of colorful bathrobe looking outfit that he used to wear. The Violent Femmes debut a-side is probably as good as any five songs recorded in a batch. It makes for a definite crowd favorite. The B side isn’t half bad either and also has the strong anchor near the end of Gone Daddy Gone. The band hardly said anything to the audience. Gano before going into American Music- a perfect peak for the bands talent said “This place was good enough for Sinatra so it’s good enough for us” (referencing the Ballroom’s history). But without any interaction, there was just something in Gano’s presentation to communicate to the crowd (There’s also a noise ordinance so maybe there wasn’t time to fool around). 

I was glad I got to see the band. I was a bit worried that I arrived at door open and that place wasn’t packed (NuMetal band the Disturbed were playing the same night at the Arena) but that only guaranteed a good view as the place did seem to fill the 2000 person vicinity by show start.

Real Estate- Daniel

The local public radio station has been playing songs from Daniel the new album by long time indie band Real Estate and I have been digging it. 

The band released their debut in 2009 and to my ears, they feel very much like the bands of that time like Death Cab for Cutie and the Shins. I never really took notice of them until their last album 2020s The Main Thing had a song featured on an Uncut sampler and I liked it quite a bit. 

Many reviews of this album mention REM. It’s not a perfect analogy for me but I think the thread of American indie rock is there. This album definitely reminds me of those Aughts bands with a poppy indie feel that could get chart success- Death Cab and Shins of course, but bigger picture also Vampire Weekend, Deerhunter, Best Coast and Wilco. 

Being their sixth album, it won’t get noticed by the Pitchforks of the world, who move on after bands reach a certain age, and it may not be something for those who like rougher edges, but I think it’s a solid sounding album that I think you will find holds up years for now- even if the radio landscape of the past no longer exists for it to get played on.