Jon Spencer is a hot mess, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. Rockabilly bands are the tightest I’ve seen live, but when it comes to Heavy Trash, Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray pull off a muddled rockabilly sound with their mix of blues and garage punk.
Their new album, Midnight Soul Serenade, is what Jack White would’ve wanted The White Stripes to sound like with their crunchy blues guitar, hip-swaying drumming and crooning vocals. “Bumble Bee” is an amusing track with Jon Spencer’s buzzing reverbed voice. “The Pill” is a spoken word song that has a Jim Morrison feel, while Spencer sounds like a growling Nick Cave. It’s pretty funny, but not in the Henry Rollins spoken word sort of way. The last song “In My Heart” ends the album with an echoing love song accompanied by Santo and Johnny-like guitar licks and soulful organs.
Though this album will definitely make cherry lipped pompadour-wearing women swoon over Spencer, it also is perfect music for a lazy Sunday afternoon. It would’ve gotten an A, but that spoken word track threw me off and didn’t fit in.
In A Word: Peanutbrittle
