I just got my copy of A New Deal on vinyl–the new record by Tim Larson and the Owner Operators. This Chicago band has been toiling away in and out of the Windy City for quite some time now and the new vinyl is, quite frankly, a triumph.
A full review of the vinyl is coming, but for now let me just say that Larson and company have perfected something I like to call Economic Noir. It would not be unfair to compare the lyrics to the storytelling and world-weariness of Stan Ridgeway, but the music is in its own league altogether.
A New Deal is a combination of dark, brooding southern sounds (without sounding corn-fed or just off the Dukes of Hazzard farm) with some excellent swampy guitar work, plus more than a hint of Angelo Badalamenti. I am sure that’s not intentional, but it certainly is welcome. If you’ve ever seen the evil barroom scene in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, you’ve got a good idea of the vibe that comes off some of these tracks.
The album is a flat-out commentary on life in post-Bush America, with the 2008 housing crisis firmly in mind. But this record does not preach or climb up on a soapbox whatsoever. A lot of that sort of thing (from lesser artists) can be tiresome, but A New Deal writes from the trenches and sounds a lot more like looking for hope in the middle of the chaos rather than rolling over and waiting for the wolves.
I’ll save the full review of A New Deal for later, but here’s some of my favorite work from that album, live in Chicago. This stuff is HIGHLY recommended. The video doesn’t even do it justice, but consider it an apertif for the main course. Tim Larson and the Owner Operators play The Double Door in Chicago 8PM on Wednesday August 24, 2011.
