WEIRD WAR
Weird War
Drag City
· Neil Michael Hagerty – busiest man in showbiz.
· The Make-Up – coulda been huge.
Two years ago, anyone would have laughed at the prospect of The White Stripes and The Strokes being at the top of the charts and on the cover of every music magazine the world over. But the votes are in – shove the million-dollar recording studios and computer-generated popstars, it’s time to go back into the garage.
Calling it quits mere months before the supposed rock ’n’ roll renaissance, tugging the heartstrings of SPIN subscribers everywhere, longtimers The Make-Up missed out on the suddenly burgeoning scene for which they helped lay the foundation throughout the 1990s. Joining forces with Neil Michael Hagerty (himself a forefather of modern garage rock thanks to his tenure in Royal Trux), the rapidly recorded and released Weird War (not to mention the Make-Up’s upcoming reconfiguration as The Scene Creamers) should bring these stalwarts their rightful dues.
Where the last Jon Spencer Blues Explosion record sucked (get it? Plastic Fang!), Weird War takes the formula and proves it still has a load of mileage left. Simply put, the band plays a mix of blues, punk and tube-amplified rock riffs while Hagerty hollers and yelps overtop. "Baby It’s The Best" coughs up a chorus of whoo-hoos, "Name Names" struts along a jagged drumline, and the instrumental "Ibex Club" tosses in a flute – and how often do flutes actually rock?
The 32 minutes of Weird War sound as though they took just about that long to record, but Hagerty and his friends are understandably eager. Having stumbled onto something so groovy, is it any surprise they’d want it all out there ASAP?
|
