Sound Wheel

Though shes been known as the mighty vocalist of the Kills and the Dead Weather for years, Alison Mosshart has been a writer, painter, and photographer for nearly as long. She combined all of these disciplines -- as well as her lifelong love of cars -- in her 2019 book Car Ma, and with its audio companion Sound Wheel, she ventures into new territory: spoken word. Augmented by artful sonic textures, these stories, sketches, and poems play like listeners are on a road trip with Mosshart, hanging out in the passengers seat as she takes them to tourist traps and parts unknown (theres even a memorial to roadkill). Her smoke-honed voice is just as magnetic when shes speaking as when shes singing, and as always, she knows how to turn a phrase; at one point, she describes a Prius as an oversized Reebok. Sound Wheels sound design is just as evocative, echoing Car Mas collages of images and words with intriguing samples and sonic manipulation like the layered harmonies and processed vocals that seem to contain a lifetimes worth of secrets on Louisiana or the supernatural flair of Demon Prince. While some tracks speed by so quickly that its hard for listeners to get more than a blurry impression, when Mosshart slows down and lets them savor her imagery, Sound Wheel delivers something special. On Animals and Sonic States, a glimpse of a cross-country trip with someone seeing the U.S. for the first time, she offers gritty realism that feels like excerpts from a memoir. Her deep and abiding passion for automobiles comes through on pieces as varied as Last Pack of Holy Smokes, an amusing tale of Trump supporters with insane cars that suggests she wants to rescue them from their owners, and Oh Black Shark, an ode to one special auto that just might be the most loving shes ever sounded on record. She plays with her delivery throughout the album, spanning the appealing frankness of The Distance and offering miniature performance art with Lets Start a Band. She even lets a couple of songs sneak in, most notably the raw, prowling standout Returning the Screw. A true counterpart to Car Ma, Sound Wheel is all the richer when coupled with the books vision. On its own terms, it offers another intriguing side to Mossharts persona. ~ Heather Phares