Moanin' is a bold step forward for
Mr. Airplane Man. The duo's previous release, Red Lite, was a rough collection of appealing originals spiked by some well-chosen punk and blues covers, but it was marred, to some extent, by fuzzy sound -- like watching a four-star movie on a two-star TV. Fortunately, the production on their Detroit-recorded third effort is cleaner and brighter, and singer/guitarist
Margaret Garrett's strong vocals pack a lot more punch. There's also more of a girl group sound to the poppier numbers, somewhat reminiscent of
the Shangri-Las or
Thee Headcoatees. Overall,
Garrett and drummer
Tara McManus' grasp of melody and songcraft is more evident than before. Although the name
Mr. Airplane Man came from a song by
Howlin' Wolf, don't be fooled -- these Bostonians aren't just blues aficionados with good taste, great record collections, and cool friends (like
Monsieur Jeffrey Evans and
Greg "Oblivian" Cartwright, who handled production duties), but capable and confident musicians in their own right. With the soulful, bluesy slink of
Moanin', they join the proud local garage rock tradition spearheaded by
DMZ in the 1970s and
the Lyres in the 1980s. ~ Kathleen C. Fennessy