Roy＜限定盤/Bone Vinyl＞

Some folks believe people age out of viably playing punk rock, but hardly anyone ever outgrows being angry and opinionated, and Drew Thomson of Single Mothers will probably still be ranting about the annoyances of the world around him when hes 84 years old and making his home in an assisted living facility. Since Single Mothers is essentially Thomson and whoever he decides is in the band at any given moment, its no great surprise that their sound has changed with the passage of time. The punk rock fire of 2014s Negative Qualities has given way to a somewhat more subdued approach on 2023s Roy. On this album, Thomsons bandmates serve a brand of straightforward rock & roll with a slight garage accent and a muscular pop sensibility, a bit like if the Hold Steady had never heard about Bruce Springsteen. However, Thomson sounds only marginally less venomous than he did on Single Mothers early sides, and his articulate bile fits well with the deeper groove of his latest accompanists. (You can even hear him offering some suggestions to the guitar player during a break in "Lottery Master.") At ten songs and 26 minutes, Roy feels more like an EP than a full album, but if the portions are small, whats here is satisfying, and Thomsons storytelling and barbed observations are as effective as ever. Whether hes opening up about Los Angeles ("Watching beautiful people make the same ugly mistakes"), out-of-touch musicians ("They work hard for the brandy and a little harder for the take, I see them give themselves a little pep talk before they take the stage"), or the wealthy abusing their privilege ("You selfish little freaks, you seem at peace and thats what I find so hard to believe"), his wordplay is agile and cuts like a razor, and the character studies of "James Gandolfini" and "Forest Fire" show hes growing without losing touch with his core strengths. If Drew Thomson is stepping away from punk rock, he hasnt given up on rock & roll or his need to bare his pissed-off soul. When he sings, "I want to live for art, I want to forget money," its hard not to believe him, and Roy shows hes a talent that matters. ~ Mark Deming