Look Who's Back

A seven-piece who pay tribute to artists like the Stones and Lou Reed with their wry, slinky songs about ill-fated ambitions and characters who stand out from the crowd, good-time rockers the Nude Party parted ways with the venerable New West Records after three albums with the label. Their first self-released music since their emergent college days, Look Whos Back finds the group in a loose and joyous state of mind. While, as their name implies, the Nude Party have always been high-spirited, the relaxed mood here was likely enhanced by the fact that they recorded the album in full-band sessions at friend and producer Michael Raults living-room studio in Joshua Tree, California. With the group agreeing that rock & roll is "best made fast," Look Whos Back was captured in a few days in the middle of a tour and sounds like it (in a good way). Its cheeky title is taken from a sardonic, midtempo opening track that sets a bluesy, twangy tone before singer/guitarist Patton Magee enters with the lines "Back down from Mars with an armful of sorry/You sure left in a hurry baby, stepping out for groceries." Seeming almost like a sequel, the more tuneful "Not That Bad" then licks wounds with sentiments like "Its not that bad, I know/To be alone," whereas the subject of the riffy "Caroline" never gives him a shot in the first place. They took inspiration from Thin Lizzy on the strutting "Walk That Walk," a song whose gritty city scenes serve as a backdrop for dreams about making it big and making "the people who love and hate you scream." Elsewhere, they spotlight dedicated pedal steel (and Dobro) player Jon Delorme on the effervescent "Love Is Electric." The affectionate "Sweetheart of the Radio" features guest singers Lady Apple Tree and Pearl Charles, and they close things out with implied sand between their toes on "Juarez," which is injected with castanet percussion. While Look Whos Back may not break any new ground, its both fitting and satisfying when the album ends with the repeated, group-sung line "Wherever youre going is where I wanna be." ~ Marcy Donelson