Loose Fur: Born Again In The U.S.A.

Item: CD- Loose Fur- Born Again In The U.S.A.
Cost: $16.99 at Tower Records on 4th St. and Broadway

In November of 2005 I caught a Jeff Tweedy Solo show at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center. At one point, the Wilco frontman was joined on stage by fellow Loose Fur bandmates, Drummer Glenn Kotche and Jim O'Rourke. . At the show they performed a song that would be on the 2nd Loose Fur album, that at that time I knew as "Whistling Jesus" (which appears as The Ruling Class on the album), not because they said that was the name of the song but because it was being circulated on the internet with that title. Since that show I have been looking forward to the new Loose Fur Record and luckily for me that time has comel

While the first Loose Fur album seemed hell bent on exploring and experimentation between the relatively new collaborative relationship between Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, Uber Indie Producer -artist Jim O'Rourke and Percussion Virtuoso Glenn Kotche, the group seem more focused on making things pop on their 2nd effort BORN AGAIN IN THE USA (I capitalized because I don't know how to italicize on this thing).




The first song "Hey Chicken" immediately hooks you in with a 70's Rock Riff and a catchy hook as Tweedy sings, "You want me broken/You want me dead/I'm living rent free in the back of your head." He then goes on to taunt the object of his ridicule by antagonizing "Hey Chicken You're all talk." The band continues to strut their stuff with the whistled fok pop hook on "The Ruling Class." Tweedy tells the tale of how Christ is spending his time now that he's back in town. "He's back Jack, shootin' smack, Find him if you wanna be found."

Like any good mix maker knows after getting off to a quick start it's necessary to slow things down a bit and that's just what mellow bittersweet ballad "Answers To Your Questions" accomplishes without diminishing the listeners interest one bit. And if one just so happens to zone out for a second, the upbeat tempo is quickly recaptured in the next three tracks, "Apostolic", "Stupid As The Sun" and "Pretty Sparks" which all do their job fitting into the mold of the 3 minute pop song. The latter of which is just what the title suggests, a beautiful melding of all the members' of Loose Fur's individual talents. Tweedy's vocals start off as the primary focus but each individual provides a spark to further the song whether it's a driving rock riff from O'Rourke or a flurry from Kotche's kit. When the tempo slows down, someone comes along to sweep it into a frenzy again.

The latest Loose Fur effort is not without the experimentation that seemed to be the uniifying factor in bringing these three individuals together. The instrumental "An Ecumenical Matter" is fairly sedate but nonetheless pushes the boundaries on an album whose strength lies in its pop compositions. Tweedy and company are also not afraid to try the patience of short attention spanned listeners as evidenced on the 8 minute plus but rather pleasant "Wreckroom".

By the time the album ends on a bouncy piano pop of "Wanted" you're expecting to be bounced into another catchy pop song only to have reached the end of the album. If the worst thing I can't say about this album is that I wanted to hear more than I guess Loose Fur have made a pretty good album.

Overall rating: A-