Mike Badger
Devils Ghosts & Firearms
(Nine x Nine)
Hours spent listening as mavens of the first order exercise merit are never squandered.
To fully appreciate Mike's efforts, one does best by beginning with the final, title track. It's an expansive, Americana projection through churned intensity, one in which the La's co-creator holds forth with literate courage. Pop traces peek, and are of the ripened sort. Tracks like "Ghost in This Machine," "Growing Old So Gracefully," and "Dark Side of the Mountain" share the titular composition's mature voice and moving construction.
"Shoot Me in the Head" and "Cudda Wudda Shulda" ably illustrate Mike's higher-gear inclination. Both are Rockabilly rousers with pronounced Country swayings that endear. "Keep 'em Busy" is another raver; Perry Bradford's estate might enquire after credit. (Which isn't a knock; all traddish neo-rockers summon comparisons. And there's nothing illegitimate about adding one's own imprint to preceding forms.)
Accord this due respect by placing it on a high shelf.
Recommended: "Ghost in This Machine," "Wolfman," "Shoot Me in the Head," "How the Hell it Come to This," "Keep 'em Busy," "Dark Side of the Mountain," "Cudda Wudda Shudda," "Half Bottle of Whisky," "Devils Ghosts and Firearms"
Videos: "Ghost in This Machine" "Wolfman" "Shoot Me in the Head (If I Ever Become One of Them" "Keep 'em Busy"
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