Baader Meinhof
Drawing inspiration from sick and sensational headlines is nothing new in underground rock: In his influential mid-'80s group Big Black, Steve Albini delivered provocative ditties about a child sex ring in rural Minnesota and kids who were hooked on torching things with kerosene. But with his first release outside the Auteurs, Luke Haines tries to push things even farther. He takes the name of a notorious early '70s German terrorist group; uses the members' mug shots as album art, and crafts a conceptual effort based on the inner musings of sinister souls ranging from the sadistic rebels in Mogadishu to the legendary hit man Carlos "the Jackal" Ramirez. I know what you're thinking: "Yawn. If I want shock rock, I'll listen to Marilyn Manson." But like Nick Cave's Murder Ballads, Baader Meinhof succeeds because Haines is a very literate pervert. "Christ was an extremist/With a kamikaze soul/Happy birthday, Anna/You're 29 years old," he sings in "Mogadishu," effectively capturing the mix of political fervor and messianic delusion that can cause a normal middle-class kid to start playing with Uzis and plastic explosives. Haines may be a creep, but he can certainly turn a phrase. What's more, the music matches the lyrical sophistication. Two drummers create a loose, clattering foundation of herky-jerk percussion; a violinist saws away in an understated, melancholic way, and the moody minor-key melodies sound as if they've been sampled from a futuristic funeral parlor. Through it all wafts Haines' surprisingly chipper and tuneful vocals, and they somehow turn these unlikely ingredients into strong pop hooks. You'll never have more fun singing along with a more despicable group of people.--Jim Derogatis