Short Attention Span Record Reviews, May 2022

THE LOUDER STUFF

AUDREY HORNE – Devil's Bell
They always sounded like a poppier Iron Maiden, but this time the NWOBHM flavor is a bit stronger. (7)

UDO DIRKSCHNEIDER – My Way
Look, we metalheads still love Udo, but we love him the same way we love the 14-year-old family dog we grew up with who’s now half blind, half deaf, and limping. Listening to him attempting to bark covers of songs we know from powerhouse vocalists like John Lawton, Tina Turner, Dio, Plant, Meine, Halford, Mercury, and Sinatra is entertaining but at the same time a bit sad. (6)

PRIMUS – Conspiranoid
This 3-song EP is prime Primus (sorry). (8)

RAMMSTEIN – Zeit
With a slightly different track sequence the return of the Teutonic Industrial Metal Giants could’ve been Album Of The Year, since the three opening tracks are also probably the weakest on the record and first impressions count. But the next eight songs will kick your ass extremely hard. (8)

RONNIE ROMERO – Raised On Radio
He just pulled a Jorn Lande – a covers album featuring hard rock hits from the 70’s and 80’s. His voice is a bit better than Udo’s. (7)


THE OTHER STUFF

3rd SECRET – 3rd Secret
It doesn’t sound at all like what you’d expect a band produced by Jack Endino and featuring Krist Novoselic, Matt Cameron, and Kim Thayil to sound like. Too quiet. (7)

RYAN ADAMS – Romeo & Juliet
Fourth album in 16 months coming just three weeks after the last one must be some sort of record. He says this is his “summertime” album and it certainly sounds more summer-y (i.e., jangly) than “Chris”. (7)

BLACKBERRY SMOKE – Stoned
An album of Rolling Stones covers mainly from the Sticky Fingers/Exile On Main St. era, a limited red vinyl release for Record Store Day from the world’s greatest living southern rock band. (8)

MIRANDA LAMBERT – Palomino
One of the best country-pop (or pop-country) albums of the year by the Queen of the genre. (8)

WILLIE NELSON – A Beautiful Time
May he live forever, releasing touching and funny country albums like this one every few months. (7)

OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW – Paint This Town
It’s impossible not to like this album of mostly uptempo bluegrass originals played with virtuosity and gusto. (8)

OUMOU SANGARÉ – Timbuktu
Western African artist and feminist icon blends traditional music from Mali with American rock/blues/pop influences and the results are spectacular. (8)

AARON SKILES – Wreckage From The Fire
Fans of Drive-By Truckers will love this – not only it sounds quite a lot like DBT’s best moments, but it features a couple of DBTs as well (bassist Matt Patton co-wrote the album with Skiles, keyboardist Jay Gonzalez also plays). (8)

SPIRITUALIZED – Everything Was Beautiful
Another drug-fueled fever dream like the Stooges and the Stones jamming with a gospel choir on Librium, this is the closest they’ll ever get to “Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space” (their masterpiece). (8)