Customer Reviews

Do You Want Power (Dig)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have had this album now for a few months and it is a constant in my car. I would recommend this album to anyone who loves to hear real guitar and drums and appreciates and great voice. If you love music from the sixties, punk & a little country (tiny) you will love this album and band as much as I now do.

It is my honor to write the first review for the Ettes new album, "Do You Want Power". I was initially thinking about giving this album (am I giving away my age by calling it an album) 4 stars. Then I realized that I was comparing it to the prior release, "Look at Life Again," which I consider probably the best album I have ever heard. Unlike that album, which I loved 10 of 11 songs, there are 2 songs on this album that I don't absolutely love. Slipped below a 90% approval rating, hard to justify 5 stars, but I think I can cut them some slack. And it's available on vinyl this time made the decision easy.

Why the Ettes? Please see my review of "Look at Life Again," I don't want to repeat it again here.

Biggest difference between this album and "Look at Life Again" is the more refined sound while still maintaining that beat driven music that attracted me to the band's prior album. Whether the band is maturing or the change of producers is the cause, this album contains incredibly hit worthy, slick, semi ballads, like "I'll Be Your Lover" and "Love Lies Bleeding" as well as good old beat driven 2:20 rock and roll like "I Can't Be True," "No Home," and "Blood Red Blood". But make no mistake, it is less garage punk and more mature sounding than the last album and much more so than "Shake the Dust".

Having listened to this album about 10 times in the last 2 weeks I am growing to appreciate the differences and honestly think a year from now I will like this album more than "Look At Life Again," which is my current desert island album.

UPDATE: Yes this is now my favorite album, with "Look At Life Again" a close second. Flew to Austin to see the band live at Stubb's on April 30. Best Concert Ever! They basically played most of this album live. The music transfers well to a live setting with none of the holes that develop when most bands move from the studio to a live setting. Their music gets an even edgier quality live. If you love their albums it is well worth the time to catch a live performance.

From the opening bars of "Red in Tooth and Claw," with its powerful fuzz bass riff supporting a deceptively delicate lead guitar line, to the slow sing-song lyric accompanied by simple piano and 'cello lines on the album-ender "Keep Me in Flowers," "Do You Want Power" is truly "all killer, no filler." It is punchy, minimal, hooky post-punk power pop of a high order.

"I Can't Be True" is a high point; loud, razor sharp bass and drums support a repeated three note lead guitar line, topped off by fierce lyrics sung by Lindsay "Coco" Hames. The repeated chorus "I can't be true" comes across as a declaration of freedom rather than a confession. And the hook-filled, infectious tunes just keep coming, one after another. "Take it With You" hits like a hurricane with bass, drums, and guitar pared down to the bare essentials to support an equally spare, catchy Hames vocal that is slightly echoed. Then comes the country-inflected, acoustic, mid-tempo weeper "Loves Lies Bleeding." It's like a taste of something cool and refreshing before the rock returns full-force in "Modern Game," with the chorus shouted out: "Big cheater, big cheater, It's a b-tch to see you."

A lot of thought and craft went into the making of "Do You Want Power, the Ettes third album. In this case the production brings a sharp shine to the songs, adding to and unifying the record rather than weighing it down.

The third time's the charm for the Ettes. Highly recommended.