Hoops and Leather Boots

Hoops and Leather Boots is a recorded collaboration between Brian Glaze (The Brian Jonestown Massacre) and Greg Ashley (The Gris Gris), pushing the margins of simple song structures while straddling fidelity situated between lo and hi (mid-fi?). The title track opens with a garage-folk cool and vestiges from The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s credo that the '90s were just the '60s turned upside down. Over melancholy acoustic guitar chords, minimalist drumming, and vintage organ drones, Glaze affects Stooges-era Iggy in his inflections. The backing female vocals on “Hot Dinner” add a little summery whimsy to this sing-along ditty, and the rustic, out-of-tune parlor piano is a nice touch (even though the solo ends after just a few seconds). “Fear of God” grooves with organic junkyard-sounding percussion as Glaze’s affected inflections tread to stay afloat in an undertow of reverb. Reminiscent of Kim Fowley’s loose and sleazy garage rock, “City Lover” is a standout jam with snarling guitar leads, endearingly sloppy drumming, and weird backing glam rock vocals that sound similar to the layered falsettos of T. Rex’s “Mambo Sun.”