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Sometimes, a band hits upon just the right alchemic mixture of the
correct lineup, the right studio, a spot-on engineer, and impeccable
timing. When this happens, and all of the elements come together just
right, the results can be explosive. The Ettes' recent second
album, Look At Life Again Soon, is one of these instances.
The Ettes, a trio of mono-monikered retro beat punkers, chose to
record their new record at world "famous", all analog, Toe
Rag Studios, in England, with the truly legendary (if rather obscure)
producer Liam Watson. Toe Rag has been the birthplace of a
lengthy history of outstanding purist rock and roll recordings by
the likes of The White Stripes, Eddie Angel (of Los
Straitjackets), Billy Childish, Holly Golightly,
and many others. And with Look At Life Again Soon, both Liam
Watson and the Ettes have managed to carry on in that tradition with
great aplomb.
Look At Life Again Soon is a platter full of stompers and
raveups, fuzzed out bass, echo-y vocals, and plenty of grit and gumption.
From the opening thrust of bass and drums of "I Get Mine",
all the way through closing track "Particular" highlights
are "Pay Up" and "To Arms, "Two Shakes",
and the aforementioned "I Get Mine". In each instance, singer
Coco's voice belies a woman who's seductive yet sharp, as likely
to switchblade you as she is to kiss you. The rhythm section is thundering
and boomy, without stepping over the overdriven, yet understated,
guitar.
If there's a criticism to be had, it is only that there is not
a lot of breadth to be found across the album, and most of the songs
are somewhat interchangeable with others. One notable exception
is closing song "Where Your Loyalties Lie", which has
a more spacious sound, and sets a rather nicer departure mood. The
end result is that the album is inherently a ballsy kick in the
pants for a run of any four or five tracks, but after that, it becomes
easy to want to spin something else just to change up the auditory
recipe. However, the sound that this album is built upon is one
that I've found extremely easy to keep coming back to.
The songs are spartan, yet uniformly convey a sense of impending
violence bubbling just underneath the surface. In fact, this record
would make the perfect soundtrack for a viewing of Death Proof,
with the dialogue turned off. This song, and this band, is a chick
habit to be relished, just don't take your eyes off the nearest exit,
because you never know where the next scooter gang riot's going to
erupt.
For those at all familiar with any previous Toe Rag work, feel free
to compare this record to The Bristols, or any of Fabienne
Delsol's work, as there are a lot of similarities with The Ettes,
particularly where vocals are concerned. All in all, Look At Life
Again Soon makes a strong argument for a return of authenticity
to rock and roll, and a trip back to days of teenage rebellion, late
night transgressions, and morning regrets.
-David Meyer (mondogarage)
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