Lucky Eye
What a difference a budget makes. Finally, the Flat Duo Jets get to play with the big boys on a real label (Outpost) with real producers (Scott Litt and Chris Stamey), and the results are a greasy rock & roll orgy of the best kind. Fueled by the old-Chevy-with-a-blown-muffler voice of Dexter Romweber--and with the addition of bass guitar, strings, and horns--Lucky Eyefinds Chapel Hill, North Carolina's near-legendary guitar-and-drum duo working out their psycho-Elvis tendencies with one foot in Graceland, one foot in the gutter. Whether a creepy country stomp, Southern goth-rooted rockabilly, swing, surf, or a twisted Vegas-via-Memphis lounge trip,Lucky Eyeis a hoot and a half.--Neal Weiss