Dex Romweber 1966 - 2024 RIP
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Last week carried the terrible tidings that Dex had passed at age 57. Music is poorer for the loss.
He first drew acclaim as the Flat Duo Jets' frontman. A hulking and stentorian-voiced guitar-basher who quivered and jittered in onstage paroxysms, he later issued numerous solo discs of rum aspect. Each slashed.
Below are reviews of several Dex recordings that appeared on this blog. They are ranked in reverse chronological order.
Dex Romweber
Good Thing Goin' 2023
(Propeller Sound Recordings)
Dex has lofty ambitions and all are within his hand. His writing is of monumental stature. We bear witness to the union of hound dog rhythms and high musical art, as beatdown guitar makes unlikely common cause with majestic passages and august symphonic movements. The contrast between angelic background choruses and his own thunderous exclamations is compelling. Dex is in a class alone.
Recommended: "Good Thing Goin'," "If You Love Me," "Andrieux Boogie," "For All We Know," "Shape Of Things To Come," "Tell Laura," "I Found My Love"
Video: "Good Thing Goin'"
Dex Romweber
Carrboro 2016
(Bloodshot)
All about in Dex's works float ghosts lugubrious, stricken, and, at sudden moments, jaunty and piano-rolling. His is a booming voice summoning contemplative and flawed humanity. All of which strides and soars in confederation with authoritative guitar pummeling.
Recommended: "Nightride," "Taking My Baby Away," "Smile," "Midnight At Vic's," "Trouble of the World," "I Don't Know"
Video: "Trouble of the World"
Dex Romweber Duo
Is That You In the Blue? 2011
(Bloodshot)
Ethereal intonings, voodoo toms, "kitchenware" that rattle-clanks like skeletal percussion, and stark word-murals tear back the curtain hiding strange terrains. Dex and Sister Sara vent blusterings and guitar-rampages seized up from a familiar rock'n'roll cauldron. This is a shadowy, skewed funhouse zone. No one gets out. No one desires to.
Recommended: "Jungle Drums," "The Death of Me," "Midnight Sun," "Brazil," "Climb Down," "Is That You In the Blue?"
Video: "Jungle Drums"
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