Historic Downtown eNews  |  Archive

Sessions 27 pick of the week is Grace Potter and the Nocturnals new album "The Lion the Beast the Beat".

June 11, 2012

It is the fourth, and by far best, studio album by this band, which has finally allowed itself to let loose a bit, by which I mean it’s eerie, skittish, bruising and panting. And it touches on plenty of new sounds. On “Never Go Back” the band’s chilly strut recalls Blondie; “One Heart Missing” recalls Kim Carnes; and the title track even suggests a hint of the art-rock churn of the Yeah YeahYeahs (until it shifts directions halfway and begins to sound like a Bad Company cover band, one of a handful of egregious missteps on this album).
Ms. Potter, always a strong singer, is now a dangerous one too, finding a tone that’s ragged and loose on “Keepsake” and “Runaway.” On “Loneliest Soul” she peels off the vocals slowly and alluringly, letting each line settle in before starting the next.

That is one of three songs here written with and produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, who adds in a bit too much vintage-organ filigree, but who also encourages the band to use its guitars as weapons and nudges Ms. Potter into more tousled territory.
At her best on this album she calls to mind Stevie Nicks in her least drowsy phase. “I lit a fire with the love you left behind/It burned wild and crept up the mountainside,” she sings on “Stars.” On “Parachute Heart,” which captures love’s uncontrollable urges, she sounds like a woman getting lost, and finally taking flight:

There’s trouble in the friendly skies tonight
Love can never last when you’re flying up this high
You took the leap but I’m not ready to come down
So long baby

Come by 505 State St at Sessions 27 and pick up your copy of this great album, added bonus the first few to purchase the album will also receive an awesome 7” record of two of the albums singles. Check us out for all your CD and LP needs!