Dark Snack
The Moaners erupt from the glut of guitar-and-drums garage/punk/blues duos with this debut, a hard-smackin' boil-down of bad love, grinding riffs, atmospheric droning, and vocal harmonies that justify their name. Singer and guitarist Melissa Swingle hails from Mississippi, where enough molasses and cotton powder stuck to her vocal cords to make her songs about juke-joint nights and haunted  hearts leap from elementary to elemental. She's also funny, in a sneering way, comparing men to breeds of dogs in "Terrier" and wryly paraphrasing author Flannery O'Connor in "Flannery Said." "Elizabeth Cotten's Song" pays tribute to the late North Carolina blueswoman by quoting her classic "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad." Nevertheless, the way Swingle's bittersweet drawl, raw, effects-colored slide guitar, and slow chiseled solos mesh with veteran punk drummer Laura King's uncluttered thumping sidesteps identifiable regional styles and musical eras to create the Moaners' evocative, distinctly Southern soundscapes. To call their music timeless would be an exaggeration, yet their take on rock certainly rolls to its own heartbeat.--Ted Drozdowski