The Jackets - Queen of the Pill

 

I've ranted'n'raved about the Swiss-based Jackets numerous times before, as they are assuredly my favorite modern day garage combo, bar none. With an incredible live show, front-woman Jackie is a uniquely expressive'n' charismatic singer and guitarist, with a fab, fuzzed-out, tremelo'd tone, backed by my old pal from the 80's LA garage scene, Chris on drums (I always have to mention that he started out with me in the Foot Foot Three!) and Mosrite-Master bassist Sam providing the perfectly powerful backing for the tunes. 

All of their songs are unmistakably garage-oriented, but with a sound unlike anyone else's and it's kinda hard to pinpoint the reasons for that. Of course, Jackie has her own style - both musically and vocally - but there's something in the songs themselves, the melodies, rhythms and progressions, which is all their own.

This album was produced by King Kahn (and mixed'n'mastered by Jim Diamond) and the sound is phenomenal - loud'n'full'n'powerful with excellent tones, all the while sounding just like the Jackets. Right from the start there is a masterful blast of fuzz for the opening "Dreamer" that evolves into a mid-tempo, tremelo'd garager with terrific backing'n'dynamics from Chris'n'Sam. Sam's rollickin' bassline and Chris' rapid-fire drums intro "What About You", a frantic rocker, while "Steam Queen" is a classic Jackets groover with hip, layered, varied guitars and extra vocals from Kahn, "Move On" is a call'n'answer raver with a cool breakdown, followed by another monster fuzzer, "Don't Leave Me Alone".

More Godzilla-sized fuzz leading off the title track which breaks down into some cool dynamics and rollin' bass lines and an extended psyched out ending. There's a bit of a Mid-Eastern feel (complete with gong by Kahn!) in "Floating Alice", "Losers Lullaby" is punk-rock-paced ala "Neat, Neat, Neat" (Jackie even sings "yeah, yeah, yeah" throughout!), "Deeper Way" is another way-out fuzzer with groovy Gregorian-chant-like backing vocals and the finale, "Be Myself", is a fantastic garage rocker that I thought was gonna be empowering but the tag line is "I don't wanna be myself"! (I can relate - I once wrote "she made me hope that someday I could be someone besides me"). 

If you're looking for modern garage rock'n'roll, this is the place to go! The Jackets are the best around these days and their live show can't be beat! Get it!