Then I Saw the Holy City

Album Review

"A rock & roll band from Portland, OR" doesn't sound like the most enticing of come-ons when looking for a healthy swig of shaggy rock moonshine. But the understatement by this "not Seattle" based five-piece is one of the most intoxicating slabs of retro rock to hit the shelves in 2004, not the least because bandleader Matt Hollywood was the bass player for indie darlings and poster boys for self-destruction, the Brian Jonestown Massacre. Sure, they might wear their influences like a grease stain on their vintage jeans, but any group that can cull up aural references to the Rolling Stones, the Byrds, Gram Parsons and the Stooges up through to Blur and Wilco without ever pulling their stringy hair out of their face deserves endless respect. "Little Elf" pictures Hunky Dory era Bowie taking a trip to Lee "Scratch" Perry's studio, with George Martin's orchestra in tow, while "Drugsick" finds Hollywood pairing vocals with tambourine/guitar (in that order) player Sarah Jane for the sort of junkie ballad we once looked to Royal Trux to deliver. And for those who can't stay off the narcotics, "If You're Cool," "Instant Dharma" and "Sports" all turn the psychedelic stomp-pedal to ten, the later reconfiguring the classic "Gloria" guitar riff with Spaceman 3 dry mouth and a timpani (!!!) Who ever said dope, acid and rock & roll was a bad idea?