Sunday, November 15, 2009
A+E, Music, Reviews

Heavy Trash

“MIDNIGHT SOUL SERENADE”  (BIG LEGAL MESS)

Whether with Boss Hog, Pussy Galore, R.L. Burnside or his own Blues Explosion, if Jon Spencer is involved, rest assured the result is going to be raw, ragged and greasy. Heavy Trash is certainly no exception. The ongoing collaboration between Spencer and fellow roots-cellar dweller Matt Verta-Ray produced two previous albums of skewed, punk-influenced country, rockabilly, soul and blues. What started out as a side project seems to have mutated into a full-time gig—a smart move, since this disc distills the promise of the first two into 36 minutes of dirty, garage-oriented rock that navigates Spencer’s tightrope walk between the dark and the profane.

    From the goth-surfabilly twang of the instrumental “Pimento” to the Cramps-influenced sleaze of “Bedevilment” and the slow-motion ooze of the spoken-word “The Pill” (think Edgar Allen Poe by way of Jack Kerouac), the pair’s garbage can of twisted Memphis Americana runneth over.

    Santo & Johnny’s “Sleepwalk” takes a detour into the graveyard on the closing “In My Heart,” with the reverb running high as Spencer testifies that “without love you’re soaking wet.” If this wasn’t so well-recorded, you’d swear the duo jammed together and added the words in later.  

   If you’ve liked, or even appreciated, Jon Spencer in any of his past collaborations, you’ll love this album. With Verta-Ray, he’s found a soul brother as whacked as he is, and on “Midnight Soul Serenade,” the combination has never sounded more disturbed, unhinged or, ultimately, successful. 3.5 STARS—Hal Horowitz