The Cutting Edge

m u s i c popularbass lines loping with ripe presence butless-than-exact definition—none ofwhich, however, radically detracts fromthe scintillating rave-ups.DERK RICHARDSONFURTHER LISTENING: Either/Orchestra:More Beautiful Than Death; MahmoudAkhmed: Ere Mela Mela: Ethiopiques 7The Living Blue: Fire, Blood, Water. AdamSchmitt and the Living Blue, producers.Minty Fresh 63. Music: ★★★★Sonics: ★★★WiththeStrokesreadying a comebackafter Roomon Fire barelycaused a sparkand the WhiteStripes skimping on guitars in favor ofbone-rattling marimbas and Elton Johnworthypiano ballads, it appears as if theback-to-basics rock revival may be waning.The Living Blue, a quartet ofChampaign, Illinois twentysomethings,pay no mind to these current trends,attacking Fire, Blood, Water with thebrute force of a Jerome Bettis touchdownstampede.Referencing everyone from theReplacements to Led Zeppelin to theModern Lovers, The Living Blue avoidssounding like a rock retread by crankingthe guitars and delivering an endlessstream of irresistible hooks. StephenUcherek sings with an obvious sneer, hislyrics touching on lying girls/governments(“Tell Me Leza”), the danger ofcomplacency (“One Beat”), and, quitepossibly, his failures as a gardener(“Greenthumb”). Ucherek is ablybacked by a swinging rhythm sectionand the revelatory playing of guitaristJoe Prokop, who can make his six-stringroar like a jungle cat and still dial itback to play a chunky blues riff whenneeded—vide, the take-no-prisonersstomp of “Conquistador.”This comfort level with one another,developing since the group formed in thelate ’90s, reveals itself as the band plowsthrough the staccato pluck of “SerratedEither/OrchestraFriend” and gnarled overgrowth of“Secrets.” Even when Ucherek attemptsto rein it in, as he does briefly on “SheBleeds Pink,” the propulsive drum beatand stabs of guitar prod him to pick upthe pace. The production is more thancompetent, though the drums could havebeen recorded with more punch. Guitarsrightfully dominate the mix, cuttingthrough tracks like buzz saws and givingthe tunes a necessary swagger.third horizontal3/3AVGUIDETAS 158P163With Fire, Blood, Water, The LivingBlue has delivered its rock ’n’ roll manifesto—athrowback to a time when guitarswere for shredding and ballads wereleft to Broadway shows. It’s an impressivemix of musical chops, intensity, andsongs that bodes well for the band’slong-term prospects.ADFURTHER LISTENING: The Replacements:Pleased To Meet Me; Idlewild: 100 BrokenWindowsWWW.THEABSOLUTESOUND.COM 147