The New York band Jon Spencer Blues Explosion is recognizable out of thousands. The bassless mix of rock 'n roll, soul, punk and blues that the trio developed over the years under the direction of Jon Spencer has nowhere been matched. With eight albums, a large number of singles and EPs and a relentless tour drive, JSBX has worked their way up to the embodiment of rock 'n roll, but the inaccessible
… rawness of their music has not yet led to a (commercial) breakthrough. The most accessible album to date was Acme, released in 1998, which sounded relatively clean and slick. This is no longer the case on Plastic Fang. The JSBX has largely returned to the rough sound of earlier work. Titles like Killer Wolf, Down In The Beast and The Midnight Creep show not only the dark side of the New Yorkers, but also how rock 'n roll should be played: thumping hard, rough and dirty. Plastic Fang shows effortlessly that hyped rock 'n roll bands like The White Stripes, the Strokes and The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are not even half as' rock 'n roll' as good old Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. (RWK)more
