The Rock*A*Teens
' sixth studio album, 2018's
Sixth House
, arrives nearly two decades after 2000's
Sweet Bird of Youth
, with a breakup and a pair of short reunion tours separating the two LPs. Given that long layoff, no one should be surprised that this band sounds a bit different as they give things another go, sounding older and, if not necessarily wiser, at least a bit more cautious. Where
the Rock*A*Teens
sounded impressively chaotic and mildly deranged on their 1999 high-water mark
Golden Time
,
is tighter, more focused, and seems less likely to veer off the rails at any given moment. Some bands chase the sound of their younger selves when they reunite, but wisely,
aren't struggling to do that. Instead, they've sought to conjure the intensity of their salad days rather than the particulars of the attack, and this strategy serves them well.
is less manic than
of yore, but this music still generates the vague but uncomfortable feeling that something could leap out and grab you by the face at any moment, largely thanks to the refined bellow of frontman
Chris Lopez
and the echoey guitar figures of
Justin Hughes
. The determined lope of bassist
William Joiner
and drummer
Ballard Lesemann
hits the crucial balance between strength and wobble, adding to the menace and grim determination of this music, and on tunes like "Crystal Skies," "Lady Macbeth," and "Listen, Sonny Boy" (the latter perhaps a kiss-off to their own younger selves),
create something that may not be a perfect approximation of what they created in the '90s, but it's truly satisfying in remarkably similar ways. In short, this band is still crazy after all these years, and on
, they make their special madness signify, and it's a genuine achievement. ~ Mark Deming