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Rating:
After two delightful but informal exercises in style - "Acme" and "Plastic Fang" - many fans of the "orange" period cult were wondering if JON SPENCER would return to those levels. "Damage," with its usual exquisite taste for the short title, seems likely destined to meet both the tastes of the more recent fans and the nostalgia of old aficionados for the retro sound of the past.
A sensational album, superbly produced, intelligent, modern, and classic at the same time. Just the intro alone would make many useless and famed bands à la Hives pale in comparison, but the entire album is at a level we would not have expected from Spencer after the intriguing yet cunning turn of "Acme." Among all of them, a chilling "Spoiled," a diseased ballad that seems to find Johnny Thunders' ghost in an alcoholic night with Mr. Lux Interior [indeed, this album is filled with Cramps-inspired patterns]. The presence of David Holmes not only enriches the ensemble but makes the whole Vega-like climax align with certain recent New York trends [which aren't new but it's as if they were]. As for Jon Spencer and his numerous projects [does anyone know anything about Boss Hog?]. Well, this man confirms himself as an excellent artist, capable as he is of revitalizing and desecrating a sound that in other hands would be pure déjà vu, why deny it?
"Damage" made me rediscover that uncontainable energy of rock that I searched for in vain in dozens of today's bands and that - except for rare cases like v. Hellacopters - hardly remained stuck to my skin more than necessary.
Is it a matter of passion, analogies, or simply bitter awareness?
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