Electric Waco Chair
Can a Chicago bar band fronted by a transplanted British punk rocker rekindle the torch of honky-tonk tradition? Launched by the Mekons' Jon Langford as a beer-guzzling genre exercise, the Wacos have become less revivalists than reconstructionists, renewing the spirit if not the style of classic roadhouse renegades. Within the blue-collar populism of anthems such as "Walking on Hell's Roof Looking at the Flowers" and "Dragging My Own Tombstone," the rhythm section and electric guitar carry a rock & roll charge, while the pedal steel and occasional fiddle throughout the album provide a tinge of vintage country. There's no filler among these 13 tracks, as Langford alternates vocals with the sweeter-voiced Dean Schlabowske, and the results split the difference betweenJohnny Cashand theClash.--Don McLeese