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VOICE OF TREASON
(Sanctuary)
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They may have gotten their start six years ago with a buzz-igniting production hand from now-ubiquitous White Stripes frontman Jack White, but back then, White was looking for his own break. This time around, the brothers are doing it for themselves, and Voice of Treason proves that the third time out is a charm for this Detroit-by-way-of-Toledo trio. Sure, it’s always dubious when twentysomething white dudes from the ’burbs name themselves after African-American felons incarcerated in California’s Soledad Prison. And then use a black-panther logo on their merchandising. That said, the band know their history, and the music here — gutbucket boogie hoodoo; swamp stomp and disheveled punk blues that sound like Royal Trux without the smack problem or the identity crisis — keeps you coming back for more. Name-that-lick is part of the party: the pared-down stagger of "Sons of Dogs" echoes Fred McDowell’s "You Gotta Move"; the ramshackle swagger of "Ain’t It Funny" boils over into a pot of Booker T.’s "Green Onions" stew. The opening "Cage That Tiger" is a rumpus-room raver hatched from too many hours spent listening to the Nuggets box set; "I’m So Glad" chugs with a big Bo Diddley thump as filtered through the Yardbirds’ "Hot House of Omagarashid." And if you got that last reference, this album’s for you.
