Genre: John Spencer Blues Explosion are awesome and also way
less fun then they ought to be. They attack retro 70s rock n blues with punk
energy and have been doing so for an absurdly long time without mainstream success.
Somehow their music manages to be intensely fun and completely lacking in any
kind of hook. Their albums are also usually a million hours long. Listening to
them can be kind of exhausting, but it is usually fun either in small doses or
when you feel like being all intellectual and unpacking an album. Honestly I
think this approach to the blues is kind of backwards and may explain why they
never got the kind of chart success achieved by similar blues retro groups,
though maybe saying so will call down the indie inquisition on my head. Anyway
they are a lot of fun and I think this album is more accessible than some of
the others I have listened to, though the rap rock on “Hot Gossip” is, uh,
suspicious. All their albums are good for long drives.
Where would I have heard of them: JSBE has had an absurdly
long career in that long and splendid indie twilight where all your peers love
you and start bands but you never get money or true fame. At some point maybe
you heard of them. Or maybe one of your cooler relatives heard of them. Ask
around.
Anything of note: This was the only album they release under
the name “Blues Explosion,” which sparked some elaborate conspiracy theories
that the band was ousting Jon Spencer. Oh also? Jon Spencer is the brother of
that chick from Brassy. So that’s a pretty fun fact.
Is it any good: Yup. Not on my regular rotation list but I
like the band and this album is pretty fun.
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