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If pressed to name a band that embodied a glam sensibility with the deep and abiding understanding of the rock \u2018n\u2019 roll aesthetic, one might come up with Mott the Hoople. At its best, that British group fronted by Ian Hunter created some lasting music. But \u2013 save for an aborted reunion tour a few years back \u2013 that was a long time ago. Where oh where might we turn for that same winning combination of musical virtues in this, the third decade of the new century?<\/p>\n
Happily, I have the answer, or at least one of \u2018em. The Handcuffs are a Chicago-based outfit of supreme rock power, sexy swagger and timeless rock quality. Led by wife-and-husband Chloe F. Orwell (guitar, vocals) and Brad Elvis (drums), The Handcuffs have been on my musical radar for many years. But as fine as their previous material has been, little of it quite prepared me for the triumph that is Burn the Rails<\/em>.<\/p>\n Kicking off with a brief instrumental theme, the album seamlessly shifts into high gear and never lets go. \u201cLove Me While You Can\u201d is equal parts irresistible melody, razor-sharp hookfest and lead guitar showcase. \u201cShe Ain\u2019t No Flufffer\u201d is every bit as NSFW as its title suggests, but it\u2019s a far better tune than similarly smutty pop tunes (like Berlin\u2019s \u201cSex\u201d) could ever hope to be. The music simply stomps<\/i>, with a character not far removed from Led Zeppelin. But some inventive production and arrangement flourishes take the tune a step or two toward (dare I say it) progressive rock. It\u2019s a tour-de-force.<\/p>\n As superb a leading pair as Orwell and Elvis are, their superb band mates take things to the next level. Jeffrey Kmieciak\u2019s lead guitar work is never less than thrilling, and he takes things unexpected places that work in context. And Emily Togni\u2019s thunderous bass guitar work pairs seamlessly with Elvis\u2019 drums to create one of the most satisfying rhythm sections in modern history.<\/p>\n \u201cBig Fat Mouth Shut\u201d opens with some insistent piano straight off an early Roxy Music LP. Shades of glam-era T. Rex inform the tune, but as ever, The Handcuffs distill their inspirations into something that \u2013 while it feels familiar \u2013 is always unflinchingly original.<\/p>\n Even when the group dials down the intensity \u2013 as on \u201cLet\u2019s Name Our Children\u201d \u2013 they still smoke. Tunes like \u201cThe Ballad of Fritz and Zoom\u201d employ Alison Hinderliter\u2019s malevolent Mellotron and analog synth textures, and the result out-Hearts prime-era Heart.<\/p>\n The title of the compact \u201cI\u2019m Happy Just to Dream With You\u201d might suggest The Beatles, but the song itself has more in common with Roy Wood\u2019s Wizzard. \u201cPretty Pretty\u201d rocks as heavily and as hard as Machine Head<\/i>-era Deep Purple, with a showy, splashy arrangement that seems designed for arena-rocking. Again, Hinderliter and Kmieciak impress mightily.<\/p>\n \u201cCome On Hey Hey\u201d has a feel not unlike Spirit; it\u2019s catchy on the surface, but dig deeper and the track reveals all manner of nuance and power. And Orwell\u2019s fiery saxophone work is thrilling. She applies similar textures to \u201cDancing with the Dandies.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps the album\u2019s most radio-ready (if such a term has any meaning today) is \u201cI Cry for You.\u201d Like every single tune on the record, it has all the necessary elements for success, all packed into a pop song. \u201cThe End of the Party\u201d shifts back and forth between two very different styles, but somehow it works; rocking and sophisticated at once, it has a character that fans of Queen will appreciate.<\/p>\n The album ends on a vaguely sinister note with \u201cTobogganing,\u201d a nearly-one-note jam full of guitar squalls, clattering dissonance, crosstalk and found sounds. It\u2019s a delightful mess, and somewhat counter-intuitively, it\u2019s the perfect way to close a flawless album.<\/p>\n As I\u2019ve mentioned, I\u2019m a longtime admirer of The Handcuffs\u2019 work. But with Burn the Rails<\/i>, the group has upped the ante so significantly that I wonder if they haven\u2019t just created the finest work they\u2019ll ever produce. This record is certainly the best they\u2019ve done so far. It\u2019s certainly shortlisted for my Best of 2022 roundup, and hey, it\u2019s only July! (Great cover art, too.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If pressed to name a band that embodied a glam sensibility with the deep and abiding understanding of the rock \u2018n\u2019 roll aesthetic, one might come up with Mott the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23414,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,49,62,65],"tags":[963],"class_list":["post-23413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-glam","category-new-release","category-rawk","category-review","tag-handcuffs","cat-34-id","cat-49-id","cat-62-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23413"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23417,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23413\/revisions\/23417"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}