Review- Horns of Ammon, by Linus Pauling Quartet

Horns of Ammon

Homeskool

2007’s All Things Are Light marked a quantum leap forward for the Linus Pauling Quartet, from the level of bands that are a private pleasure for a local community to the level of bands that one might feel driven to share with one’s out-of-town friends. Light’s best songs, like “Southern Pine” and “Old Crow,” stood more on their own merits as music and less on gags and stoner shtick than any of the veteran hard-rock quintet’s previous work. On this LP, more than ever before, LP4 dared to sound as if they cared about what they were doing.

The new CD Horns of Ammon is largely made up of songs that were written before All Things Are Light, and to some extent that shows in the tone of the compositions. Opener “Lost It All” has the same dreamy feel as “Southern Pine,” though it isn’t quite as good a song. However, songs like “Nowhere,” long a staple of LP4 shows, and “Concubine” have a singsong lyrical structure that is more reminiscent of the band’s earlier work. The title “Porno In The Sink” speaks for itself, though the song seesaws cleverly between wry understatement (“I was disappointed”) and hilariously specific outrage (“You were doing anal! You were doing midgets!”). The record closes with “Hawg,” originally released as part of the limited-edition Grey Ghost series. It’s a ten-minute, two-chord jam with lyrics that sound half-improvised. Here, and indeed on much of the album, including “Lost It All” and “Concubine,” the material is buoyed by searing performances from the group’s three guitarists.

It’s dangerous to overstate the degree to which Horns of Ammon represents a retrenchment in the band’s evolution. The Linus Pauling Quartet’s trademark and greatest strength has been and remains its ability to turn the ridiculous ideas that rock bands have when they’re hammered into songs that are pretty memorable without really seeming to try that hard. It’s just that this record seems less consequential than All Things Are Light. As fun as the LP4 are here, as they are always, they’re capable of hair-raising, kick-ass hard rock. There’s a taste of that on “Hawg;” for a full serving, we’ll need to wait until 2011.

Linus Pauling Quartet performs Saturday, October 23 at Khon’s. Hearts of Animals, the Mathletes and Chris Cascio are also on the bill. 7 PM.