These days it seems like whatever Jack White of The White Stripes touches turns to gold — even when he’s trying to kick its ass.
Formerly White’s darling protégés, Von Bondies’ singer Jason Stollsteimer was involved in a rumble with the lead stripe during a joint tour, which eventually led to an ambulance ride for Stollsteimer.
One could almost swear that the Von Bondies got twice as good instantaneously. While never considered slackers in the field of Detroit garage rock, their new offering Pawn Shoppe Heart is a marked improvement over their previous material, and somewhat ironically, a validation of White’s former faith in the band.
Falling in the gray area dividing glam and heroin rock, there are definite nods to Iggie Pop, Dinosaur Jr. and possibly even the Velvet Underground.
Pawn Shoppe Heart kicks off with “No Regrets.” Marching, crunchy guitars beg to be headbanged to, pulsing with an arena-rock flavor. The first impression is that the band has gotten so undeniably tight. Whenever a note needs to be there, it is, and all the members are on the same page.
“You feel barren / you feel bored / no one takes you seriously when you’re 24,” belts out Stollsteimer with generous reverb on his full-bodied yells. Stunningly short (with a 15-second intro, the track ends at 2:30), it’s just enough to make the listener sit up and take note.
“C’mon C’mon” lets everybody know exactly why Warner Brothers snapped the band up. This is garage-rock pop; sugar and blood, complete in 2:10.
The song’s drive is unrelenting. Stollsteimer screams, “When my teeth bite down / I can see the blood / of a thousand men / who’ve come and gone,” and somehow you get exactly what he’s saying.
The Iggie Pop connection is the most evident on “Mairead.” A slow pseudo-surf guitar floats the song in, then the drums come up with a tight roll before breaking into a noisy guitar line.
Over the top, Stollsteimer howls, “Oh Marie / your love is / beyond compare.” At the chorus there’s a brief swell of guitar, while Stollsteimer repeats his lover’s name.
To break up the flavor, the Bondies make use of bassist Carrie Smith, who can hold her own with the boys. “Not That Social” pulls off a Joan Jett vibe, with guitars fuzzed out to the maximum with the chorus “I’m not that social / just good drinker.”
The band even throws in a noise-waltz that shambles along in threes with “Crawl Through The Darkness.” The atmospheric, drum-heavy track has a somewhat suspect chorus, with Smith and guitarist Marcie Bolen chanting together, “Crawl through the darkness / fear all that don’t / fate is a gift.”
The second half of the disc gives more of the same: the forgettable “The Fever,” another Iggie Pop vibe with on “Right of Way,” more rocking on “Poison Ivy” (“I call her poison Ivy / I’ve got an itch”), and finally a shambler reminiscent of the Bondies’ previous work with the title track.
What the Von Bondies have done is admirable, and a production job by former Talking Head and Modern Lover Jerry Harrison cannot go unmentioned. This is an undeniably forceful recording.
However, it’s questionable at this point whether the album will have staying power. Although Pawn Shoppe Heart is a great listen, very little of the album’s material innovates, and one of its major attractions is the decidedly vintage vibe. Despite the band’s embracement of N.M.E. quotes proclaiming them the antidote to emo and gushing that the Bondies “recast the last 40 years of American music into one Chelsea-booted whole,” let’s be serious.
Still, that’s no reason not to give Pawn Shoppe Heart a listen. The hooks are solid, the beats are tight, and Stollsteimer is in top form. Head-bob or dance along — it’s up to you.
Grade: A/B
