Raven-haired Chicago youngster Miss Alex White and her Red Orchestra have been blasting out their staggeringly simple, yet sonically monolithic sound for over two years now and developed a dedicated following in the Midwest of the USA. It’s no coincidence that their new album title, Space & Time, is also one of the secrets of their impressive sound. How they manage to fill space within songs with lush and satisfyingly timed tones of rock-n-roll’s bleeding edge, in this age of constant desperation, is a wonder to the ears. Space & Time takes the sound and style of their debut album and ups the ante. Ex-Clone Defects Wes Kerstens and “Fast” Eddie Altesleben and recently acquired bass player Eric Villa really put this band on the map, musically and creatively. The songs have greater depth, timing, and inner frustration that extends itself through Kerstens’ lurid and devilishly delicate guitar strangulation, and are balanced and anchored by an amazing rhythm section. Miss Alex’s unstoppable vocals, which seem to explode in every direction, keep the raw simplicity and primal forces in focus. The influence of The Modern Lovers, The Jesus & Mary Chain, ‘60s garage, and ‘70s punk are all evident here, yet the result is something very original. Miss Alex White and the Red Orchestra will be taking their act to Europe this summer to spread the love beyond middle America for the first time. It should be a blast.
LP $12.00
07/17/2007