A certain duality surrounds the release of The Ettes’ fourth full-length recording this week.
While Wicked Will, which drops Tuesday, illustrates the considerable growth of this Nashville power-pop trio over the past five years, it is also symbolic of the group’s raw and powerful debut. Just as they did in 2006, The Ettes enlisted analog engineer-producer Liam Watson and recorded at his revered Toe Rag Studios in London. The second collaboration features the same vintage ambiance as Shake the Dust, but with a heightened sense of musicianship.
The most obvious improvement heard on Wicked Will is the guitar playing of Lindsay “Coco” Hames. Dead and gone are the days when The Ettes almost exclusively played blistering romps of power chord energy. The new record stunningly opens with a haunting country number “Teeth,” which features two, layered guitars, one light acoustic and one blazing electric. “My Heart” also employs the twin guitars, showing a bit of Hames’ soloing chops and the obvious Nashville influence on her playing since the band’s move from Los Angeles. Throughout Wicked Will, Hames shows an expanding range on leads as well as the sonic styling of her guitar.
The rhythm section does more than hold it down on Wicked Will as well. Actually, The Ettes’ energetic shows are known for the ultra-thick bass of Jeremy “Jem” Cohen and the seemingly inhuman intensity of Maria “Poni” Silver’s drumming. While recordings never quite do these two justice, “The Pendulum” and “Stay Where You Are” are tremendous examples of the thundering interplay Cohen and Silver can inspire.
The Ettes – The Pendulum
“You Were There” is vintage Ettes in, of course, a dual sense. Musically, the band achieves a slower, more mature version of its trademark, reinterpreted 60s beat sound. Vocally, Hames fashions herself a famed diva of girl-groups like The Ronettes and The Marvelettes, after which The Ettes are named.
In addition to a return to Liam Watson, Wicked Will marks a comeback for Long Gone John and his Sympathy for The Record Industry, which has been somewhat of a dormant label in recent years. Long Gone John himself said, “it’s been nearly four years since I’ve released a new record and the amazing Ettes debut was among the last few I put out.”
Sympathy for The Record Industry issues Wicked Will tomorrow. Luckily for New Yorkers, The Ettes play a pair of album release gigs at The Mercury Lounge on the Lower East Side tomorrow night August 2 and at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn Wednesday August 3. Heavy Cream, another promising power-pop and punk band from Nashville, help The Ettes jump-start a month long American tour.
