Heavy Trash

A larger-than-life personality throughout the ’90s, Jon Spencer’s not the first artist you’d expect to fade away. But that’s exactly what the Blues Explosion frontman did, sprouting up a few years back strumming alongside Matt Verta-Ray as Heavy Trash. The new Midnight Soul Serenade continues on the group’s country waltz back in time, taking cues from six string–slinging forerunners like Link Wray and Eddie Cochran.

It’s not a huge surprise that Spencer wears the rockabilly shtick so well; it’s as if he simply traded in his blues hat for a fresh tub of Murray’s pomade. Now that he’s firmly middle-aged, his gruff growl suits the material perfectly, purring through the country swing of “Good Man” or the foreboding, gravelly voiced narration oozing through “The Pill.” The funky thump of “Isolation” or the honky-tonk shuffle of “Bedevilment” vividly illustrates this expertly tailored twang, with Spencer’s flawless drawl betraying his New York roots. Doused in reverb and tremolo, the guitar-heavy collabo has nailed the formula for noir Americana.

Heavy Trash seeps into Schubas Sunday 15.

Download Midnight Soul Serenade at iTunes | Buy it from Amazon.com

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