Album reviews
LEE BAINS III & THE GLORY FIRES “Dereconstructed”
Alabama-born gospel-reared rocker Lee Bains spends a lot of time thinking about Southern identity on the excellently titled “Dereconstructed.” You might not immediately notice the soul-searching nature of songs like “The Weeds Downtown” and “The Kudzu & The Concrete,” however. That’s because Bains, a former member of the much-loved Dexateens, rocks with such bracing abandon as he brings howling garage-punk intensity to the Southern rock lineage that runs from Lynyrd Skynyrd to the Alabama Shakes. The sonic assault can be too undifferentiated from track to track, but Bains’ best intentions, in singing songs as a proud Southerner horrified by the bloodstained past of the land he loves, still comes ringing through, very loud if not always crystal clear.
Dan DeLuca
NRBQ “Brass Tacks”
It was a nervy move by keyboardist and founding member Terry Adams to take the NRBQ name for his own group a few years ago. The New Rhythm and Blues Quartet had built up a loyal following and cherished legacy over more than four decades of smart and freewheeling music-making.
This new iteration, however, manages to retain a lot of the old NRBQ flavor. Naturally it all starts with Adams: He still exudes a shaggy charm as he blends pop classicism and virtuosic musicianship with an offbeat lyrical perspective, while also taking the occasional detour into jazzy meditations (“Places Far Away”) or the Rodgers and Hammerstein songbook (“Getting to Know You”). Guitarist Scott Ligon also has a sure touch for effervescent pop, as he shows right out of the box with the opener, “Waitin’ on My Sweetie Pie,” and new bassist Casey McDonough provides a bracing slab of twang-fueled country with “Fightin’ Back.”
What’s still missing is the boisterous bar-band side of the old ’Q. (Of course, for many longtime fans, that rock ’n’ roll aspect was best personified by swashbuckling guitarist Big Al Anderson, who left more than 20 years ago.) But when this version gets down to “Brass Tacks,” there’s still a lot to like.
Nick Cristiano