Album Reviews

PENTAGRAM
Show 'em How
(Black Widow)
Like an undead spirit at the stroke of midnight, occult metal legend Pentagram keeps coming back, no matter what hardship the universe throws in its path. Joined here by members of heavy rock journeyband Internal Void, singer Bobby Liebling (the 'gram's only constant in its 30 years of existence) croons and growls his way through a program of vintage tunes like "Wheel of Fortune" and "Starlady" (a song Kiss allegedly tried to buy from him for the Destroyer record). Guitarist Kelly Carmichael proves himself a worthy foil, not only filling the sound out with powerful riffs and fills, but also co-penning "Elektra Glide" and "Prayer For an Exit Before the Dead End," a pair of excellent new songs. Shimmering with a 70s horror film vibe and rocking harder than a teenage headbanger on his first hit of poppers, Show 'em How is nearly as strong as Pentagram's 70s work. Considering how influential that era turned out to be, that's high praise indeed. Michael Toland [buy it]

PHOSPHORESCENT
The Weight of Flight
(WARM)
Phosphorescent principal Matthew Houck has obviously heard a few Palace/Will Oldham records in his time, as his project's music is in the same vein: folk and C&W filtered through a clouded indie rock lens. He even has a similarly shaky-ass singing voice. To Houck's credit, though, the rootsy elements sound natural, rather than forced; the cover of "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys," while damn near unrecognizable, at least comes off as totally sincere. This sounds like the guy who grew up listening to country and discovered indie rock later, rather than the other way around. The Weight of Flight has far more soul than anything Oldham has ever done, especially the dream pop of "Not Right, You Know." That said, I can't imagine myself listening to this more than once. Michael Toland [buy it]

ROBERT POSS
Distortion is Truth
Crossing Casco Bay
(Trace Elements)
GILBERTPOSSSTENGER
Manchester & London
(WMO/Cargo)
Guitarist Robert Poss led the guitarcentric ensemble Band of Susans in the late 80s and early 90s. But he's also a well-respected solo performer with a long history in New York's avant music underground. The excellent Distortion is Truth puts Poss' G&L axes through their paces with everything from driving drones to bruising noise rock to jagged-edged pop. Poss has the soul of a painter and an eclectic musicality that would make Gary Lucas proud. Crossing Casco Bay drifts more firmly into the waters of avant garde composition, consisting of two long bass and/or electronics drones, plus some extras. It takes a more refined ear than mine to appreciate it, I guess, though the short pieces "Theme For an Imaginary Car Commercial" and "Throne of Blood (Reprise)" are pretty neat. Manchester & London partners Poss with his former BoS mate Susan Stenger and Wire guitarist Bruce Gilbert for a couple of noisy, symphonic improvisations that are much more satisfying than the pieces on Casco Bay. Thank god for people like Poss; even if you don't care for what he's doing, you have to admire his adventurous spirit and dedication to pushing the boundaries of his instrument and his art. Michael Toland

DUKE ROBILLARD
Blue Mood
(Stony Plain)
Veteran blues guitarist Duke Robillard is back with a tribute to the ultra-legendary T-Bone Walker. Blue Mood is all T-Bone, all the time. Robillard, of course, sets the guitar loose on this record and has great command of Walker's classic "T-Bone Shuffle." The vocals don't compare to Walker's originals, but Robillard's covers stand out among the sea of tribute albums by not trying to mimic the original. Blue Mood communicates the respect this musician has for Walker and listening to the record gives the blues fan real insight into how yesterday's music is influencing today's. Robillard's album accomplishes what all tributes set out to: showing why the original artist was so influential in the first place. Lance Looper [buy it]

RWAKE
If You Walk Before You Crawl You Crawl Before You Die
(At a Loss)
Great googly moogly. I didn't think it was possible, but Rwake has made an album that makes hate-rock stalwarts like Neurosis and Eyehategod sound like pussies. The band whips up a dervish of classical guitar riffs, crunching power chords, unsettling samples and dinosaur stomp rhythms, nailing it all to the ground with frontdemon CT's ghastly, black-metal-at-half-speed shriek. Rwake sounds like it's full of rage, disgust and general acrimony, and is happily (if it does anything happily) taking it out on anyone within earshot. I'm not sure if listening to this is catharsis on a grandly repulsive scale or masochistic punishment. It's not a matter of hurting so good; it just hurts. And that, I suspect, is the whole point. Michael Toland

TRACY SPUEHLER
It's the Sound
(Tracymusic)
It's the Sound is an awesome record. Spuehler's voice is captivating and reminds me of Aimee Mann, and that's a good thing. Produced by Liam Davis, this album does sort of mirror the sad-little-girl vibe that has been done by, well, basically everyone. But these songs are clearly so personal, yet universal, that the sadness isn't a killer. She lilts her way through the very Californian title track and from there dives right into "At the Frank Black Show." This combination sets the tone, without being boring, for a very evenly paced record. This is Spuehler's second release and I am already eagerly anticipating the next. You should be too. Lance Looper [buy it]

HANK THOMPSON
A Six Pack to Go
(Sundazed/EMI)
Hank Thompson is one of those music giants whose name hardly comes up anymore, which is a shame. Even in his 70s he's still the world's foremost practitioner of honky-tonk country. A Six Pack to Go, originally released in 1966, is practically a bible of two-steppin' drinking songs. "Honky Tonk Town," "Hangover Town," "Drunkard's Blues" and the title track are classics by any standard, and Thompson's monster "The Wild Side of Life" speaks for itself, annoying choral vocals and all. Just to add to the C&W fun, Thompson's fellow titan, guitar genius and good buddy Merle Travis plays on almost every track. Marvelous. Michael Toland [buy it]