The Knoxville Girls
In a Paper Suit
In The Red
Oh, baby (what you gonna do now?)! Something of a supergroup of seasoned swamp/noise rock vets, The Knoxville Girls feature the considerable talents of Kid Congo Powers (The Bad Seeds, The Cramps, The Gun Club, Congo Norvell?) Jerry Teel (Chrome Cranks, Honeymoon Killers), Bob Bert (Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore, Chrome Cranks, Bewitched), and Jack Martin (Honeymoon Killers) • I say, goddamn! In a Paper Suit, the Girls’ second statement, is more or less a much-welcome sum of its princely parts, a swaggering stroll through the dimly lit corners of American and Australian r n’ r, the lattermost element doubtlessly compounded by Teel’s still-Scientific obsession and Surrealist yawl: lots of those boom/boom-boom/boom beats, ghostly reverb strums and shards of treble-heavy skree, and an outlaw attitude that’s country in spirit, rock in execution. And although The Knoxville Girls may cover some classics (Hasil Adkins’ “By the Lonesome River,” Hank Williams’ “‘Neath a Cold Gray Tomb of Stone”) from a more innocent time, there’s often a sinister streak of black humor running amok in the proceedings, particularly on “Drop Dead Gorgeous” (“Drop dead gorgeous/just, gorgeous, drop dead!,” drawls Powers). So, imagine a less grimy but equally dirty-groove-laden Beasts of Bourbon or the Blues Explosion if they actually gave a shit, and you’re In a Paper Suit. Smashing!
In The Red, 118 W. Magnolia Blvd., PO Box #208, Burbank, CA 91506; http://www.intheredrecords.com
