Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Plastic Fang
(Matador)
JSBX have created a masterpiece in their day. Now I Got Worry, their
fourth record, is an awesome, ballsy rock record with remarkably twisted,
unpredictable production. It's got one of the greatest opening moments in
all of rock'n'roll (yes, ALL of it), and it doesn't let go. It does all those
crazy things to your body and your perception of time that an overzealous
critic such as myself might tell you—killing you, revitalizing you,
drop-kicking you, submerging you in... stuff, you know, the whole deal.
Plastic Fang is boring. Sorry. The closest it gets to revitalization
is a deep, life-affirming sigh of indifference.
There are a couple of good songs, and while you're listening to this record
at your friend's party (which, I admit, would make your friend cooler than
most people), you might notice these songs. "Hey," you'd shout, "the hook in
this song is pretty addictive," referring to the single, "She Said"; or you
might say, "Hey, I like how the Moog and sampled beats make this song stand
out from the rest," while listening to "Over and Over," probably the
record's best. And you might also notice a couple of thematically
appropriate lyrics, like "I'm gonna piss on your heart, baby/ Stop in and
go" on "Over and Over," or "I crave the taste of blood!" from "She Said."
Attitude deluxx!
So really, these are the only two good songs. These are the only two, at
least, that I would feel compelled to go back and hear once or twice again.
The rest of the album is an entirely uncompelling rehash of their
previous material (as opposed to the compelling rehash of the two worthwhile
tracks). It takes the parts of the last few records that weren't so great
(and Now I Got Worry has none of those parts, I reiterate) and makes
them painfully obvious. When you're trying to listen closely, that is. The
aforementioned party atmosphere would be appropriate for this record. But
why bother? There's Now I Got Worry, or Extra Width, even
Orange—albums that would stand up to not only a room full of loud,
energetic college students but also detailed headphone submergence.
You buy something that you might be excited about, or at least looking
forward to hearing, and about halfway through you have this thought: "I hope
this gets better, because then it might have been worth buying." You know
that thought? Don't let it happen to you. The JSBX are no longer vital. At
least until... the next album? Nah.
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