Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 10/14/2003
Mr. Airplane Man's third full-length,
C'mon DJ, is the strongest record yet. The duo of
Margaret Garrett on guitar and vocals and
Tara McManus on drums have stripped off another layer of dirt from their low-down
lo-fi garage punk sound. They have also taken another small step away from the
blues and toward the
girl group and classic
rock & roll sounds they headed in on their previous album. The songwriting has tightened up some, too.
C'mon DJ is a
garage punk classic in the making, an extremely catchy blast of unbridled sexy desire with the kind of chord progression that'll make you want to learn how to play guitar just so you can play along. It starts the album off at such a peak that the rest of the disc suffers a bit, but there is still plenty of fine material to be found, like the downcast and lovely
ballad "How Long," which sounds like
Mazzy Star if they had come from Memphis instead of Beverly Hills, the rollicking
"Red Light," and the heartbroken strut
"Don't Know How to Love," which shows off
Garrett's much improved vocals. Elsewhere you will be treated to excellent covers of the Dutch
Outsiders' moody
ballad "Sun's Going Down," the Wailers' pounding
garage rocker "Hang Up," the
traditional blues "Travelin'," and
Howlin' Wolf's
"Asked for Water," all delivered with a large dollop of grit, grease, and sweetness. A very nice combo indeed. If you thought you would make it all the way through the review without hearing any
White Stripes comparisons, you were almost right. They are no doubt in the same ballpark as
the Stripes, the whole guitar/drums duo playing the white
blues and all, but they are not imitators. They are simply hoeing the same row and doing it in fine unpretentious and down-home style. When you tire of
the Stripes and their
rock star routine, c'mon over and check out the simple charms of
Mr. Airplane Man's
C'mon DJ.
~Tim Sendra, All Music Guide
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