Look At Life Again Soon

The Ettes' second album is as good as modern garage rock gets. Take Liam Watson's reliably brilliant production, mix in hooky, raucous songs, stomping beats courtesy of Maria "Poni" Silver, cabinet rattling bass from Jeremy "Jem" Cohen, and suitably raw and ready guitar work by Lindsay "Coco" Hames, and you already have something special. Adding Coco's full-bodied, hearty vocals and her ability to kick your ascot one minute and purr seductively in your ear the next gives you a result that ranks with any Billy Childish-sponsored project (which I'm sure the band would consider the highest praise possible). Look at Life Again Soon surpasses the group's first album, Shake the Dust, which was good but uneven at times, by ramping up both the songcraft and the intensity of their performances. Watson seems inspired and his efforts behind the board stray from the straightforward garage approach of the debut into some wild flights of production savvy. The drum and guitar sounds he gets are monstrous too. Most of the credit has to go to the band, though, they turn songs like the galloping "I Get Mine" or the strutting "You Can't Do That to Me" into anthems. And as good as the flat-out rockers are, the band shows admirable restraint and finesse on the quieter songs like "Two Shakes" and "Chilled Hidebound Heart," giving the album a three-dimensional feel many records like this lack. Not many modern-day garage-inspired bands have made albums as powerful, tough and rocking as Look at Life Again Soon is, this is the real deal and any garage rocker worth their Vox Combo should add it to their collection.