After their rollicking tribute to soul music on 2001's excellent
Ultraglide in Black, Detroit's
Dirtbombs have gone back to thee garage.
Dangerous Magical Noise is an exciting, sweaty, loud, and dirty record, their best yet. Best songs, best production (by the always reliable Jim Diamond), best everything. Mick Collins and his gang of thugs are on top of the heap of over-hyped rock coming out of Detroit quicker than the Tigers' and Lions' annual collapses. Like their compatriots
the White Stripes, they never stoop to mere re-creation but rather slap their inspirations around a little, steal their lunch money, and leave them sucking dust. From the beginning breathless rush of "Start the Party" on, the bandmembers rarely take their feet off the gas. Pounding tracks like "Get It While You Can," "Earthquake Heart," and "Stupid" will keep the party going at a fever pitch, and tracks like the anthemic "F.I.D.O." and "21st Century Fox" will have you singing along in the car on your way back home at 3:00 a.m. When they do dial the rock back a little, like on the slow-groove garage-soul of "Sun Is Shining," it gives Collins a chance to show off his always great vocals. A few of the songs come off as generic garage filler ("Don't Break My Heart," "Stuck in Thee Garage"), but even these are saved by Collins' wailing vocals and the devotion to rock action that the band exhibits. They also exhibit some newfound glam rock influences on the super-cool "Motor City Baby" and the hilarious "I'm Through With White Girls."
The Dirtbombs are a rock & roll band pure and simple, and if you like pure and simple rock & roll with a dash of soul, you will flip over
Dangerous Magical Noise. [The first 1,000 copies of the CD contain two bonus songs: covers of
Brian Eno's "King's Lead Hat" and
Robyn Hitchcock's "Executioner of Love." The first 1,000 copies of the vinyl LPs come with a bonus 7" with two covers of songs by the Cheater Slicks: "Refried Dream" and "Possession."] ~ Tim Sendra