After forming in 2012,
the Paranoid Style
set a raw, tuneful, playfully disgruntled tone for their articulate, reference-filled takes on art, politics, and society right from the get-go. Meanwhile, stylistically, the band have wrangled garage punk, classic indie pop, early rock & roll riffs, glam influences, and more, and fourth album
The Interrogator
is no different on all the above counts. Led by singer and main songwriter
Elizabeth Nelson
and her spouse,
Timothy Bracy
(founding member of
the Mendoza Line
), the project has welcomed numerous support rockers into the lineup over the years, and
features singer/songwriter
William Matheny
(keyboards/guitar) and
the dB's
'
Peter Holsapple
(lead guitar) among its official personnel. If any of that sounds intriguing, it only gets better with guests like
Will Rigby
(
),
Matt Douglas
the Mountain Goats
), and
Lisa Walker
Wussy
), the latter of whom provides backing vocals on songs including "Print the Legend," an organ-accompanied, Tex-Mex-flavored ditty about truth versus perception ("Print the legend and believe it's true"). That song was inspired by the works of one of
Nelson
's heroes,
Joe Ely
, and involves a tale of low-wage workers Sidewalk Sidney and Jill Collins, who get involved in a hold-up. The grungier "I Love the Sound of Structured Class" is a satire on social order, "Styles Make Fights" opts for horn-embellished late-'50s grooves to name-check music publication Pitchfork (for whom
has written), and the bouncier "The Return of the Molly Maguires" is a blues-rock-flavored entry with lyrical music references like "The boys are back in town" and "Sympathy for the devil is the last of your concerns."
has worked as a literacy consultant for an educational nonprofit, and her rapid-fire lyrics, while crystal clear audibly and offering easy-to-follow surface-level narratives, can be nearly impossible to contextualize in real time, so it's best to embrace the rollicking rhythms and enjoy the ride (and whatever happens to register). Rare exceptions to those lively rhythms include the twangy ballad "Are You Loathsome Tonight?" and closer "The Findings," which leaves listeners on a delay-heavy dressing-down ("You'd be the scariest thing in The Shining/And those are the findings"). Taken together,
is definitive
Paranoid Style
and, as such, sure to be a boon for fans as well as an excellent test case for the uninitiated. ~ Marcy Donelson