Search - Jon Blues Explosion Spencer :: Damage

Blues Explosion Diversifies, Matures

Jonathan C. Hamlet | USA | 12/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (from heretofore with this very album known as Blues Explosion) has put out volumes of WEAK stuff. Now I Got Worry was a great album, but at times was full of filler. Orange was a classic, but ridiculously short and at times meandering through giant chunks of funk that didn't seem to go anywhere but to more riffing. Acme, the project with Dub Narcotic, (aside from Sideways Soul) was also texturally interesting but got incredibly monotonous after the first few stellar tracks. Then Plastic Fang, the last album, was good but had a certain vague albatross on it. I can't say, but the album just never really felt right at all despite the fact that the Blues Explosion were probably never really produced right. All of these albums I like, but had obvious weak spots.



The newest album, Damage, is good. Watch the video for "Burn it Off" and that's enough, really. But, like the others, it has a lot of the normal weaknesses of the other albums. One minor weakness to a Blues Explosion album, however, has been totally removed. All of the previous albums in some way attempted a single coherent sound for the entire album in the tradition of most alterna/punk rock albums. Because the Blues Explosion is 2 guitarists and a drummer, this naturally posed problems by the time they crossed the 20 minute mark. Despite summoning more noise from those three people than probably physically possible, the trademark sounds they were trying to create each album, whether it be gritty old blues with Now I Got Worry, more mainstream rock with Plastic Fang, or funk with Acme, the pounding Russell Simmins drums and Spencer and Judah's guitar assaults just got monotonous and old. Damage is the first Blues Explosion album in memory to avoid that by simply having different sounds for every song. This feels more like a hip hop album than a rock album because they enlisted a ton of producers (like Dan the Automator, DJ Shadow, and Steve Jordan) to diversify the sound. Even Chuck D appears! (For a Spencer interview that details the production process and the writing process for the album, here's the Sun-Times to the rescue)



Damage feels fresh with each new track. There's the slow grind of "Damage" to kick things off, then the first single with it's churning shuffle "Burn It Off." The real treats in this album though are some of the more interesting tracks the Blues Explosion has ever done. "Spoiled" is a light piece with acoustic guitar and what sounds like a little girl's voice for the chorus. "Hot Gossip" is solid poltiical blues-rock, but with Chuck D rapping the chorus. You'd only expect that from Spencer, who actually studied Semiotics at a grad level at Brown University (bet you didn't see that one coming). One of the album's most provocative pieces is the stop-and-go blues/hiphop/punk rock track DJ Shadow produced and scratched on, "Fed Up and Low Down." Classic rock sounds pop in, especially with "Rattling", and with "Mars, Arizona." In general, the Blues Explosion is a lot less afraid to stray away from their punk rock and rowdy RL Burnside fast blues roots and play the slow jams and grooves. It lends a much more soleful tone to Damage than other albums where there were only a few token slow pieces. All in all, Damage reveals not only keen musicianship, but a diversity and maturity a lot of the previous work failed at really nailing down. It may have taken this long, but Spencer and Co. finally appear to have grown into serious musicians moving beyond some "This is not the devil's music, the blues is number one, etc. etc." shtick and into a steely, tough, and versatile band.



"

Great album from the new look Explosion

Duotonex | Chicago, IL | 03/24/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Damage is still the Blues Explosion, there's not doubt about that. ("CAN YOU DIG MY BAND?!?!?!) Upon the eve of every release of a JSBX album, I always wonder what direction the music will end up. Up until this point, I believe the transgression from the complete "mess-rock" sound of their self-titled debut, through the rawness and funk inspiration of Orange and Acme, all the way up to the perfect yet more radio-friendly Plastic Fang has been a perfect musical journey. On Damage, however, they seem to be in a state of trying to go back to their dirtier sound while still trying to appeal to a large audience. This isn't necessarily a negative thing, but I can't say that I got into Damage as deep as I was into Plastic Fang, their last album. All in all though, Damage is a great record that's easy to recommend to Blues Explosion fans as well as rock lovers trying experiencing something new and explosive.



I will concur with those that say an album is nothing compared to seeing these guys live, I've been to 7 Blues Explosion shows and have lost my voice at every single one of them. If you and yours are within 50 miles of a Blues Explosion show you owe it to yourself to check it out.

"