5 out of 5

Label: Dim Mak

Producer: Joel Brown

Does it sound like Blood Brothers?  Sure.  But Johnny Whitney’s then side project (although perhaps a harbinger of the BB’s soon-to-come split), removed of the need to prove itself as hardcore – something the Brothers struggled with once Burn, Piano Island pushed them into more weirdo pop territory on occasion – proves just as volatilely satisfying as anything by his main gig as well as capable of straddling slightly more varied (in tone, in music) territory.  ‘Chandeliers’ doesn’t harm my ears like ‘Machetes’ or ‘Crimes’ does – two albums I love, but that are aurally exhausting after a run-through.  Neon Blonde is certainly loud, but the undercurrent of… heart? …seems to make it more accepting of immediate return visits.  Smartly, Whitney and crew start off with ‘Black Cactus Killers,’ which meshes perfectly with the bass-heavy herky-jerk hardcore of that era’s Blood Brothers, albeit minus Jordan Billie’s atonal yelp.  It doesn’t carry as much lyrical weight or interest as other tracks on ‘Chandeliers’ when you key into the fact that Whitney’s mostly just repeating the chorus, but its still an excellent song for setting the tone.  ‘Crystal Beaches…’, track 2, brings in the electro element that was prominent in the ‘Headlines’ EP that dropped before the album.  The lyrics shift more into the deranged story-telling and Whitney’s fractured singing juxtaposes with the danceable beat to make the whole song deranged, especially when it breaks into a weird spaghetti-western guitar bridge before springing back to its main theme.  Greatness is afoot; this isn’t bile and anger, its something more exploratory.  Confirmed by ‘Chandeliers and Vines,’ a piano ballad with lyrics outlining such destitution that it brings a literal tear to my eye.  I’m just that kinda guy.  Thankfully, the song kicks my ass with its completely (purposefully) unlikeable breakdown, no beat, no rhythm, just noise, before Whitney launches into verse 2.

You can juggle variations on this description for the album – hardcore riff, electro riff, perverted pop song.  Sprinkled throughout are the reminders that you’re dealing with some creatively limber folks – ‘New Detroit’s musical-esque outro would be kitsch employed by most, but Neon Blonde twists it just so to match the vibe.  Joel Brown’s production (assisted by the group members, I believe) captures it all with a wonderfully warm resonance without trading any of the brittleness needed to make this work.  But it avoids the sharp edge of a lot of electro recordings and is also mastered or mixed such that drum machine or razored guitar riff or vocal screech hits effectively without making you pull the headphones from your ears for a breather.  Track 4’s ‘Princess Skullface Sings’ is a fine example of this, with each element fully in the foreground.

I suppose this evolved into the slightly lighter Jaguar Love, but Neon Blonde still captured a perfect middleground between hardcore and pop.  And while I wish there was more, like many a great album, perhaps it works because there is only the one.  But at least we have ‘Chandeliers in the Savannah,’ for every moment where you wish that hardcore punk band would show a dash of restraint, or where your favorite troubadour would just go a few steps further…