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Music reviews |
Ted Leo / Pharmacists - Shake the Sheets
Instantly likable, driving political punk-pop to chase those post-election blues away.
Lookout
Release date: 10/19/04
Rating: A1 Me and Mia 3:30 (mp3 available from Lookout website)
2 The Angels' Share 3:46
3 The One Whot Got Us Out 3:04
4 Counting Down the Hours 3:08
5 Little Dawn 5:33
6 Heart Problems 3:13
7 Criminal Piece 2:42
8 Better Dead Than Lead 3:46
9 Shake the Sheets 4:43
10 Bleeding Powers 2:51
11 Walking to Do 3:36It doesn't take long for Shake the Sheets to grab you – from the first few notes of "Me and Mia," you're already reaching for the volume knob. Thirty seconds in, as the drums kick in, the old-school punk guitar cranks up and the chorus commands, "Do you believe in something beautiful? / Then get up and be it!" – well, you know without a doubt that you've hit upon the best rock record of 2004. And this is just the first song, one about kicking an eating disorder no less.
Ted Leo has been known in indie-land – both in the '90s band Chisel and with his current backing band, the Pharmacists – for a guitar-heavy, propulsive, smart and uncompromisingly political updating of circa 1979-1981 pop-punk. Think of the Jam's driving mod drums-and-chords; Elvis Costello's catchy melodies and snotty lyrics; Billy Bragg's earnest preachiness; and the Clash's deft appropriations of reggae, ska and skiffle. After hearing last year's Hearts of Oak, my first exposure to Ted Leo (I still haven't heard 2001's very well-received Tyranny of Distance, which means I really have no business writing this review), the prominence of those influences left me thinking that he was British. No – it turns out he's from my home state of New Jersey and spent much of the '90s here in DC.
Like those influences, Leo has a strong political message – which makes Shake the Sheets, released 2 weeks before Election Day, a strong antidote to its aftermath. But like those influences (except perhaps Billy Bragg), Leo doesn't hit you over the head with the politics. No polemics here; the cries of rage and calls to action are usually indirect or metaphorical (you won't find "Abu Ghraib," "Halliburton" or "Patriot Act" in the lyric sheet), and even these tend to be overshadowed by those driving guitars and spot-on melodies. Even if you hate Michael Moore you can still like Ted Leo.
Hearts of Oak, which earned Leo much critical attention and modest sales, was a bit uneven and required a few listens to appreciate (with two exceptions: the classic-rock-tinged "Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone," an instant masterpiece, and the angry "Ballad of the Sin Eater" which, with its "you didn't think they could hate you" chorus, is the best anthem yet for a "war on terror" run amok). Shake the Sheets is better: there's no need to listen to it a few times, it's excellent right off the shelf. Perhaps that means Leo has dumbed it down a bit: certainly, the melodies and hooks are more up front. But even if that's the case, the music's too good – and still smarter than most everything out there.
The record opens with four very strong tracks. "Me and Mia" is pop-punk at its finest, combining blistering guitars with a hummable tune a zillion times better than what you get from those crappy major-label bands with the meaningless numbers in their names. "The Angels' Share," with a faint ska beat, sustains the energy brilliantly; "The One Who Got Us Out" amps it up even further with an '80s hardcore 2-step beat on the verses and a lyrical (unfortunately unrequited) plea for some change at the top:
The state of the State don't let me feel that safe.
I want to take it to the tired and affronted, and all they want is one who'll lead
but I'll put it to you plain and bluntly:
I'm worried for my tired country
That look on your face - don't let it go to waste
Take it to the floor of Congress
Look into the Core of Rotten
Turn into the one who got us out.Then comes "Counting Down the Hours," another venting of war-on-terror anger, which starts slow, solo and acoustic, then jumps into a perfect London Calling groove. Perhaps the album's high point (though there are many).
Those four songs alone are worth several times the price of the album, and the first time I listened to Shake the Sheets I couldn't imagine that Leo could keep up the pace for eleven songs. He doesn't, though he comes close. None of the next seven tracks are boring filler, but some are not as compelling as the first four (a couple of them are, though).
An example is track five, "Little Dawn," the longest track on the album at 5:33; it's great on the verses but repeats the same three-note riff for a couple of minutes too long. "Heart Problems" rocks hard but could use some more melody. "Criminal Piece," a pretty straight-up punk track, is superior to what most well-reviewed bands put out but is overshadowed by the rest of the record. "Better Dead than Lead" is all right, if a bit restrained; the falsetto on the chorus doesn't flatter Leo's vocal abilities.
The title track, perhaps the most strident song lyrically, is a full-on rocker and both a cry of frustration and a call to within-the-system activism. The chorus urges the listener to "Roll out and make your mark. Pull on your boots and march. / Then roll on and meet me where you'll find me doing my own part. Roll out your dented car. Maybe it won't roll far. / But if you do everything you can, well babe, that's more than a start."
Feeling angry about the next four years and ready to get active? Shake the Sheets is your soundtrack. This record is guaranteed to get you out of your post-election funk, kick you in the butt, and get you back to work where you should be. Play it the next time you plan a march, organize your neighborhood, mail a letter to the editor or write your member of Congress. Or just play it – it's a terrific record.
