The garage rock grandpa remains true to himself – until his own death.
Jon Spencer was never an innovator. With Pussy Galore he was ahead of the grunge hype, and later with Boss Hoss and his Blues Explosion he was even up to date with the times, but his creaky rock always referred to the past. So you can hardly blame the now 61-year-old for the fact that the SONGS OF PERSONAL LOSS AND PROTEST don’t seem ultra-modern.
Rather, one should appreciate what energy the old man can still unleash in a garage. This time he is supported by Kendall Wind on bass and Macky Bowman on drums, the rhythm section of The Bobby Lees – a band that openly refers to Spencer or at least to his role models. So a circle closes, and it doesn’t remain the only one.
In “Hangover” Spencer sounds like Iggy Pop, in “Knock ‘Em Out” he bows to the Cramps, including diabolical Lux Interior laughter, and “No More” is a magnificently spartan paean to dying: “Let go, you can go.” The guitar groans like octogenarian bones stumbling over breaks and syncopated riffs, and Spencer screams loudly, probably hurting his own ears. Jon Spencer is no longer an innovator, but there aren’t many who have remained so true to themselves.