IT’S been 16 years since the last Afghan Whigs album, but frontman Greg Dulli is typically bullish from its first note. On crunching opener Parked Outside, he bellows: “If they want something more, give ’em something new.” A reinvention is questionable, but this is a polishing of the band’s brand of emotionally-wrought soul rock.
With the loss of troubled lead guitarist Rick McCollum, singer Dulli is in total control. There are moments when the band reaches the pent-up energy and storytelling dramatics of their best work, 1996’s Black Love. These Sticks has a typically vertiginous chorus, while the clipped funk of Matomoros is motored by a feverish, tightlywound vocal from Dulli.
Algiers, with its spaghetti Western feel, sees Dulli pulling off Antony and The Johnsons-like vocal melodramatics. It may not be “something new”, but it is a fine album that can certainly stand alongside their best work.
Mark Edwards
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here