Raygun Takes Aim
Local Album Review
Local Album Review
Raygun Takes Aim
Local Album Review
But a penchant for retro-rock and well-placed steel guitars isn’t what holds this album together. The real glue that makes these recordings jibe is the total lack of seriousness carried from beginning to end. On “Political Science,” the guys sing “Let’s drop the big one/see what happens...they don’t respect us/so let’s surprise them/drop the big one and pulverize them.” The album, as a whole, is a parody of both the history of rock and the history of American media sensationalism. The sound’s a little bit Buddy Holly , with a whole lot of Elvis machismo and, of course, the innocence of the early-day Beatles. Even the album cover hams up the rock’n’roll satire with a picture of Nug Jug on a stage that’s not unlike the old Ed Sullivan Show . It’s great fun. Great tunes, too.
Local Album Review
Aided and abetted by partner Susan Bauer Lee on bass, guitarist Greg Horne , and drummer/producer extraordinaire, Don Coffey, Jr. on drums, Lee has created another musical masterpiece that ranks up there with the best works of Chris Stamey , Mitch Easter , and even Alex Chilton . Yes, it’s that good. So don’t let the earlier mention of power-pop, a pigeonhole that has proven to be a kiss of death for many excellent bands, throw you. Concrete Dog is comparable to Dwight Twilley and The Byrds , not The Knack .
The entirety of Concrete Dog has a southern feel to it that is anything but prefabricated. Lee is by no means reverberating the hackneyed “wild-eyed and southern-fried” clichés here, he’s just being himself, a southern gentleman. And this means that there’s just a refreshing hint of twang tossed into the mix from time to time.
Lee & Co. will celebrate the release of Concrete Dog on Friday, April 14, at Patrick Sullivan’s. This swank affair begins at 7 p.m. with free barbecue served on the back room patio. At 9 p.m., the soiree moves upstairs to the Great Room for a show that will be opened by Johnson City’s Rob Russell & The Sore Losers .
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