Rock and Roll Backlash
THE WOGGLES
Wicked Cool
Bruce Springsteen guitarist (and Bada Bing owner Silvio Dante) Steven Van Zandt added syndicated disc jockey to his resume when he launched Little Steven's Underground Garage on terrestrial radio and then followed its success with Underground Garage for Sirius Satellite Radio. Both programs play everything from classic Chuck Berry and Sun-era Elvis to tracks by modern-day garage rockers. So it's only fitting that Little Steven started the imprint Wicked Cool Records to spotlight those unsigned acts playing the fast-moving, R&B-based rock that has captivated audiences since the 1950s.
Enter the Woggles. Underground Garage listeners voted the quartet's single, "It's Not About What I Want (It's What You Got)," Coolest Song of the Year in 2006. The band was rewarded with a record contract resulting in the brashly rawkin', sometimes surf-y debut disc Rock and Roll Backlash. Turn up the volume, roll down the windows on your pink convertible Caddy and cruise down the endless highway — here's the soundtrack. "I wanna live in a time of my own," bellows lead singer Mighty Manfred on the song of the same name, and that's exactly what The Woggles are doing here. (wickedcoolrecords.com) 3 stars —Wade Tatangelo
The Ballad of Lawless Soirez
GILL LANDRY
Nettwerk
A former New Orleans busker, Gill Landry has issued a preternaturally mature solo debut with The Ballad of Lawless Soirez. Tearing a page from the likes of Tom Waits, Alejandro Escovedo, Frank Black and other artists with singular visions, Landry doesn't tether his roots-based sound to any particular genre. The fiddle-drenched country lope of "Dixie" resides seamlessly with the title track, a weirder concoction that blends mariachi horns and a vaguely Kurt Weill-esque Euro strut. Sometimes it's in the details: The fairly conventional folk ballad "Coal Black Heaven" gets an extra dose of mood via a dark and lovely Fender Rhodes solo. Landry possesses the kind of rough-hewn, everyman voice that's particularly adroit at telling his tales of loners and losers. (myspace.com/gilllandry) 3.5 stars —Eric Snider
Well Well Well
THE SAFES
O' Brothers'
A literal band of brothers, The Safes are Frankie, Michael and Patrick O'Malley. The three grew up in Chicago and formed the group in 2003. Well Well Well is their sophomore record, and it buzzes by in less than a half hour, ripe with concise alterna-pop rockers indebted to prime Weezer, in turn indebted to prime Pavement. I long for a little bit more variety from the O'Malley brothers; even with its brevity, the album doesn't quite entice from A to Z. But hooks? These boys got 'em. 3 stars —CLB
Lonely, Noir
LONELY, DEAR
Sub Pop
There's a pretty cool backstory to this disc. Swede Emil Svanängen self-released four CD-R discs as Lonely, Dear, all of them recorded alone in his Stockholm studio apartment and in the basement of his parents' house. He was discovered, signed with big American indie Sub Pop and, voilà, here we are discussing his sophomore album, Lonely, Noir. The title is appropriate: The disc combines folk-pop and a desolate, nostalgic vibe. It's tough not to hear a whole bunch of other artists in Lonely, Dear (Nick Drake, Belle & Sebastian, Neutral Milk Hotel), but Svanängen deserves his success. 3 stars —Cooper Levey-Baker
Popular Delusions and the Madness of Cows
RAMSAY MIDWOOD
Farm Wire
Austin-based singer-songwriter Ramsay Midwood spins noir-ish tales that often sound as if they're happening in the back alleys of a madman's mind.
On Popular Delusions, Midwood serves up a healthy dose of weirdness, but there's a human quality to his avant-garde blues and craggy voice that often goes straight to the heart. Take, for instance, "Jesus is No. 1," about a guy "on a fixed income because (he's) criminally insane," who only wants to "lift weights and praise Jesus all day." By song's end, though, you can't help but feel sympathy for this drunken Vietnam vet who must grapple with the realization that Uncle Sam "didn't care one darn about (him)." 3 stars —WT
Love of Diagrams EP
LOVE OF DIAGRAMS
Matador
Love of Diagrams may be a trio of Aussies, but when they plug in it's all Lower East Side, with a dirty, angular sound based in No Wave, but with less emphasis on writhing shrieks and more on fast, spirited pop-rock. This EP, a four-track teaser for the group's April debut disc (titled Mosaic), holds a lot of promise, even though it's over and done with before you can even concentrate on it. Diagrams echoes the early rep-building EPs that launched the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. 3.5 stars —CLB
This article appears in Feb 14-20, 2007.