Terry Adams
has literally spent more than half-a-century as a member of
NRBQ
, and by this time he could probably deliver a sound that would fit the band's personality with any musicians he cared to bring along. In a very real sense, that's what he's been doing since 2011's
Keep This Love Goin'
. The group quietly split in 2004, and when keyboardist, songwriter, and frequent vocalist
Adams
chose to re-form the band seven years later, he was the only holdover from the
Q
's previous iteration. Despite that,
, 2014's
Brass Tacks
, and 2021's
We Travel the Spaceways
, have re-created the sound and feel of classic-era
with impressive accuracy. Now that
and his new bandmates --
Scott Ligon
on guitar,
Casey McDonough
on bass, and
John Perrin
on drums -- have had about a decade to get used to one another, the latter three are having a greater impact on the group's music, and 2021's
Dragnet
reflects that. While their eclecticism, playfulness, and solid musicianship are front and center, as always,
Ligon
wrote two songs (and co-wrote a third with
), and
McDonough
and
Perrin
penned one each. As in the group's previous incarnations,
has more than one worthy composer in the ranks, but this results in an album that's more somber than usual, and occasionally downright moody. The numbers from
' accompanists are rooted in more traditional melodic structures than those of the freewheeling
, that rare rock & roll bandleader who cites
Sun Ra
Thelonious Monk
as key influences.
seems to have become
's new
Joey Spampinato
, with "I Like Her So Much" and "That Makes Me a Fool" object lessons in pop classicism with just a touch of sorrow under the surface, while
's "Memo Song" is a purposefully simple anthem of self-care and "The Moon and Other Things," from
's pen, is a sweetly romantic midtempo pop tune. With the other guys making nice,
welcomes the opportunity to embrace his eccentricities, especially on the amelodic and self-pitying "L-O-N-E Lone-LY," the downbeat folk-rock of "You Can't Change People," and the skeletal "Sunflower." (He also arranged the cover of the Dragnet theme that makes it sound like a
Link Wray
outtake.) A decade after introducing a different
,
has given us a different
album, and from a group that's always prized adventure and experimentation, that's as it should be. It's not the only way for a band to stay lively after more than 50 years, but it's one of the best, and it's working for these guys. ~ Mark Deming