LITTLE BIG BAND: Route .44’s Worthless Lessons is a must-hear
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Route .44
You have to hear Route .44’s new disc, Worthless Lessons — not just because it’s good, but because it’s one of the best local discs released so far this year, led by Jess Powers’s force-of-nature pipes, the rollicking Epiphone of Lefty Lacombe, and the dirty saxes of Matt Swanton and Paul Choquette. Lacombe and Swanton started out as minimalists, an acoustic duo playing cafes. But their sound expanded, as did their lineup, which grew to a total of eight. “We’re more an orchestra than a band right now,” says Lacombe, who released Worthless Lessons last week. An orchestra that totally rocks. The opening “Pushed It Too Far” and the closing “Fadin’ ” bookend a record that isn’t afraid to mine a vast spectrum of bluesy rock, ranging from Clash-style rootsy punk to sexy, soulful Morphine-style rockin’ R&B. The saxes dovetail nicely with Powers’s voice, while Lacombe provides a good foil with a gritty rock vox and axe. All of a sudden, or so it seems, we’ve got a sweet and nasty band on our hands that deserves your ear.
Route .44 | Providence Roller
Derby Asphalt Assassins | May 18 | 7 pm | Bank of America Skating Rink, 2 Kennedy Plaza, Providence |
Get him eat him
The quintet formed quietly, but handsomely, on the East Side of town back in ’04. They signed to Absolutely Kosher Records that summer and debuted the next year with Geography Cones. Over the next two years, the band laid the groundwork for a follow-up full-length with a series of limited-edition tour EPs, all exhibiting the band’s quirky but irresistible pop-rock approach. Arms Down is the band’s second disc and, like its predecessor, mingles the sounds of Weezer-type power pop with hints of weirder stuff, like Enon, and the indie rock of labelmates the Wrens. They’ve gigged with some of the leading lights of indie rock, including Broken Social Scene, Arcade Fire, the Constantines, and the Walkmen. If you judge a band by the company it
keeps, Get Him Eat Him is making all the right moves.
Get Him Eat Him + Miss Fairchild + The Fabulous Entourage | May 19 | AS220, 115 Empire Street, Providence | 401.831.9327 |
On the Web
Providence Roller Derby Asphalt Assassins: www.providencerollerderby.com
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