Low Cut Connie – Livin In the USA
Basically, this is old school rock (& roll) with aggressive vocals, driving melodies, strong backup voices, a gnarly lead guitar above the brick & mortar chords of heavy rhythm guitars on the title track reminiscent of Passifist’s “Christ In the Nuclear Age” (1994). This Low Cut Connie tune is good. Not as nasty as The Wild Stares’ “Piece of the Picture” but good. What’s punkier, or should I say more garage rock oriented, is “Get Down,” with its sufficient energy, soulful female backup in a vintage ’60s Cameo-Parkway Records style (used on Chubby Checker’s “Slow Twistin’”). This is another good Low Cut Connie rock party song, with a celebratory sound.
The guitar layers are applied liberally but cleanly & their whole soundscape on the 10-track Livin In the USA (Drops July 3/Contender Records/35:08) produced at various studios by lead vocalist Adam Weiner (piano/percussion/Wurlitzer) is rooted in early ‘60s mainstream R&R.
“Little Freakers” does have a heavy-laden Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes pose. I like the shouting female voices – gives it a lift along with the lead guitar punctuation. More distinguished is “Let Me Speak To Bobby,” with its far more soulful protocol. It’s simple stuff, but that’s what made early R&R attractive on the radio.
There’s no Eric Clapton guitar wizardry or Keith Moon drum pyrotechnics – it’s all laid down economically with soulful grit, enthusiasm & lots of vitality. “Can’t Be Wrong” continues in the Southside Johnny tradition. Nice, brief hot sax solo. There are minor swipes at Lou Reed & the Velvet Underground in style, but Low Cut Connie isn’t as edgy or thematically dark. Adam’s piano has bright spots as it cuts through some of the guitar clutter & drum pounding on “Not My Problem.”
The song titles are relatively juvenile, but it’s garage rock with lots of pizza & beer, so that can be forgiven. The musicianship is quite good, & they do lay down a tight groove that slices through the R&R cliches of such material. The penetrating lead guitar stings in “Oh Yeah,” but after a few times with that riff, add another unorthodox instrument to take the lead until the guitar returns at the end. Add color & surprise the listeners for one measure.
“Everybody” is sung straight by Adam. Almost Alex Chilton & the Box Tops in technique. It’s generic, but it delivers a good, entertaining listen.
Highlights – “Livin In the USA,” “Get Down,” “Little Freakers,” “Let Me Speak To Bobby,” “Can’t Be Wrong,” “Oh Yeah,” & “Everybody.”
Musicians – Amanda Bullwinkel (vocals/tambourine), Jarae Lewis (drums/percussion/vocals), Rich Stanley & Will Donnelly (lead guitars), Kelsy Cork (guitar/sax/vocals), Nick Perri & Lucas Rinz (bass), Linwood Regensburg (bass/guitar), Abigail Dempsey (vocals/guitar), Johnny Walker (guitar), Erin Dillard (guitar/vocals/drums), Marco Palos (sax), Larry Scotton & Brian Wells (drums), Adam Hill (acoustic guitar), Reba Russell & Vicki Loveland (vocals).
CD @ Apple & https://lowcutconnie.com/pages/music