Black-Eyed Snakes - Rise Up
(Chairkickers)
This is one of those albums that you really want to like. You like the participants (MN rocker and rollers including Alan Sparhawk of Low, and some guest spots by Tim Rutili of Califone). You like the concept (loud, brash, dirty garage rock and punked up blues). But it doesn't ever really click. It sounds like guys with respectable day jobs playing at going crazy in the basement.
The opener and title track "Rise Up" seems to wink a bit at old fashioned hardcore, like Black Flag's "Rise Above," echoing its defiant stance, punch, and aesthetic, but lacks the from-the-gut urgency. "Foresight," the best track, effectively mimics the acid soaked blues of proto-punk 60's monsters like the MC5 and Blue Cheer, even including some white-hot, art-damaged soloing. Otherwise, the album feels a bit by the numbers.
Now, it's not too much by the numbers. I mean, after all, these guys certainly know a thing or two about playing music, so it's not like they are amateurs or wannabes. And it's not like they are lacking street cred, as evidenced by their cover of Swans "Red Sheet," which nearly matches the original in terms of bludgeoning brutality. But when they are trying to swing it about not keeping a good woman down or riffing on Bo Diddley, it just doesn't sound quite right.
Writing this I feel like a killjoy, like a wet blanket, like a spoil sport if you will. Clearly, the Black-Eyed Snakes are having tons of fun, kicking up an awful noise and a lot of dust. So who am I to cast judgment upon them? So, for what its worth, this is just my two cents.
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