This is the Nick Lowe country album. He does it better than most of the country crooners today; and he did it long before anyone ever heard of Garth Brooks.
Heavy, moody pop with crashing guitars. Jaik Miller’s vocals on “Scary Dream Fade” are so overwhelmingly raw they raised the hair on the back of my neck.
In the late ’70s, he was the erratic, acid-gobbling genius who piloted the Teardrop Explodes to worldwide stardom, rockstar excess, and subsequent implosion.
From the cover and band name, I was expecting either Japanese noise or Japanese girlpunk. What we have instead is Britnoisepop that bounces and bashes.
Underflowers lean toward the subtle, swaying strains of Dead Can Dance with the rich, male voice of J. Orazi contrasting the gossamer vocals of Mia Chesta.
Think poetry and punk don’t mix? That spoken word is pretentious? You’re right, but that doesn’t stop Mick Farren and Jack Lancaster from trying something new.
This one-liner/fragment approach broaches all the right subjects: Women’s rights (good), government (bad), modern society (sucks). Once in a while, it clicks.
Despite being a perfectly good band, Lucky Me can’t stay with eerie beauty or outbursts of freakish energy. They stick with an annoyingly muddy middle.