Audio By Carbonatix
Artist: Holly Golightly and the BrokeoffsTitle: Medicine CountyRelease date: March 30Label: Damaged Goods
Hard to believe Holly Golightly’s been doing this rock ‘n’ roll thing for almost 20 years. In a long list of things that make me feel old, add her tenure as a viable musical act.
I’ve been a fan of Golightly ever since the first Headcoatees record, Girlsville, came out way back in 1991. When she went solo in 1995 with The Good Things, my Holly fandom shot to a new level. She put several more excellent records throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, culminating with Truly She Is None Other in 2003.
Since then, it’s been hit-and-miss as she’s continued to move away from her distinctly British sound, an amalgamation of Kinks-y pop and Troggs-y garage, to dabbling in American idioms like blues and country. Since 2003, she’s been collaborating with a lot of American musicians, including Jack White, The Greenhornes, and her newest foil, Lawyer Dave (a.k.a. The Brokeoffs), the Texas guitarist with whom she has made three records.
Their latest, Medicine County, is Holly Golightly’s most American-sounding collection of songs yet. In that sense, it’s Golightly’s Exile on Main Street. In fact, a lot of Medicine County sounds like it’s playing through an early-70s Stones filter.
The strength of the record is Golightly’s voice. She’s not a great singer, by conventional standards anyway. But her world-weary, melancholy delivery suits these country-garage laments well. Lawyer Dave sings a lot, too, and he sounds a little bit like John Doe of X.
I’m ready for Holly Golightly to return to British garage rock, but I have a feeling she’s stuck in this country for a while.
Note: Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs will be performing Monday, April 12, at Plush in, yes, Tucson. And while we’re on the topic of Holly Golightly in concert, I’ll share a personal bias. A band I played in opened for Holly Golightly in 2002 at Milwaukee’s Cactus Club. Needless to say, I was excited, because she was one of my favorite artists at the time. We opened the show. The middle band was The Greenhornes, an Ohio band whose core members went on to be in the Raconteurs and Dead Weather, played for well over an hour. By the time Holly took the stage, it was 12:30 and she was wasted — to the point where she could barely play. Nearly every song collapsed in on itself, and she cut the show short after about seven songs. Weak.
Best song: “Murder in My Mind,” a darkly funny murder ballad set to an upbeat chord progression.Rotation: Medium-heavyDeja vu: A far-less-nasty ExileI’d rather listen to: Any of Holly’s first nine LPsGrade: B
“Nothing Not New” is a yearlong project in which New Times editorial operations manager Jay Bennett, a 40-year-old music fan and musician, will listen only to music released in 2010. Each Monday through Friday, he will listen to one new record (no best ofs, reissues, or concert recordings) and write about it. Why? Because in the words of his editor, Martin Cizmar, he suffers from “aesthetic atrophy,” a wasting away of one’s ability to embrace new and different music as one ages. Read more about this all-too-common ailment here.
The “Nothing Not New” Archives
April 1 — Dum Dum Girls: I Will Be (A-)March 31 — The Dillinger Escape Plan: Option Paralysis (B+)March 30 — Local Natives: Gorilla Manor (B)March 29 — The Bird and the Bee: Interpreting the Masters: Hall & Oates (C)
March 26 — Eddy Current Suppression Ring: Rush to Relax (C+)March 25 — Let’s Wrestle: In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s (B)March 24 — Goldfrapp: Head First (D)March 23 — She & Him: Volume 2 (A-)March 22 — Broken Bells: Broken Bells (C+)
March 19 — Locksley: Be In Love (B)March 18 — jj: jj no. 3 (C-)March 17 — Xiu Xiu: Dear God, I Hate Myself (D+)March 16 — Drive By Truckers: The Big To-Do (B-)March 15 — April Smith and the Great Picture Show: Songs for a Sinking Ship (C)
March 12 — The Morning Benders: Big Echo (C+)March 11 — Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Beat the Devil’s Tattoos (B)March 10 — Acrassicauda: Only the Dead See the End of War (C-)March 9 — Titus Andronicus: The Monitor (B+)March 8 — Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: The Brutalist Bricks (A)
March 5 — Liars: Sisterworld (A-)March 4 — Gorillaz: Plastic Beach (A-)March 3 — Johnny Cash: American VI: Ain’t No Grave (B+)March 2 — High on Fire: Snakes for the Divine (C)March 1 — Joanna Newsom: Have One on Me (C)
Feb. 26 — Freeway & Jake One: The Stimulus Package (D)Feb. 25 — Past Lives: Tapestry of Webs (B-)Feb. 24 — Shout Out Louds: Work (B)Feb. 23 — Brian Jonestown Massacre: Who Killed Sgt. Pepper? (B+)Feb. 22 — Shearwater: The Golden Archipelago (D+)
Feb. 19 — The Strange Boys: Be Brave (B+)Feb. 18 — Tindersticks: Falling Down a Mountain (A)Feb. 17 — Lightspeed Champion: Life Is Sweet! Nice to Meet You (C-)Feb. 16 — Adam Green: Minor Love (B-)Feb. 15 — Juliana Hatfield: Peace & Love (B+)
Feb. 12 — Massive Attack: Heligoland (C-)Feb. 11 — The Watson Twins: Talking to You, Talking to Me (C-)Feb. 10 — Hot Chip: One Life Stand (B+)Feb. 9 — You Say Party! We Say Die!: XXXX (B+)Feb. 8 — Allison Moorer: Crows (B)
Feb. 5 — Joe Pug: Messenger (C)Feb. 4 — The Soft Pack: The Soft Pack (A)Feb. 3 — Polysics: Absolute Polysics (B-)Feb. 2 — Pierced Arrows: Descending Shadows (A-)Feb. 1 — The Brunettes: Paper Doll (B-)
Jan. 29 — Basia Bulat: Heart of My Own (C)Jan. 28 — Priestess: Prior to the Fire (B)Jan. 27 — The Magnetic Fields: Realism (B)Jan. 26 — Four Tet: There Is Love in You (D)Jan. 25 — Delphic: Acolyte (C+)
Jan. 22 — The Hot Rats: Turn Ons (B+)Jan. 21 — Los Campesinos!: Romance Is Boring (A-)Jan. 20 — Midlake: The Courage of Others (D-)Jan. 19 — Laura Veirs: July Flame (B+)Jan. 18 — Beach House: Teen Dream (C)
Jan. 15 — Charlotte Gainsbourg: IRM (B)Jan. 14 — OK Go: Of the Blue Colour of the Sky (D)Jan. 13 — Eels: End Times (A-)Jan. 12 — Spoon: Transference (B)Jan. 11 — Editors: In This Light and On This Evening (D+)
Jan. 8 — Surfer Blood: Astro Coast (B+)Jan. 7 — Yeasayer: Odd Blood (C-)Jan. 6 — Cold War Kids: Behave Yourself EP (B+)Jan. 5 — Vampire Weekend: Contra (D+)Jan. 4 — Texas Tornados: Está Bueno! (B)
Jan. 1 — Scanners: Submarine (B-)
