Rhythm & Views

Heavy Trash

On Going Way Out With Heavy Trash, Jon Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray pick up right where they left off with their last (and first) CD: at some point on the ragged musical highway between the rural South and the Lower East Side of New York City, with a stop in Memphis, Tenn., along the way. But they also expand out from the down-and-dirty rockabilly of their first CD, using ringers The Sadies as a backup band on five tracks, and various other combos elsewhere. The result is a fuller band sound--still dirty, but bigger.

"Pure Gold," "She Baby" and "Kissy Baby" are straight-up trashy rockabilly, with hiccupping, echoing vocals and guitars ripped straight from the Paul Burlison (of Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n' Roll Trio) handbook. They cop a feel from Eddie Cochran on "Crazy Pritty Baby," drop surf guitar and goofy f/x into the middle of "Way Out" and send a shout-out to Tucson's own Doo Rag on the hyperactive "They Were Kings."

For a little contrast, "Crying Tramp" is actually pretty sweet and even a bit mournful. Spencer, of course, has to pull out the weird at least once, in this case on the closer "You Can't Win," a gloriously messy stumble through a hobo camp, capped with the greasy-eyed comment, "If the suit smells, wear it." And that about sums up Heavy Trash.