What do you get when you take a rock journalist and a dB and put them in a band together? What happens if you add in a guy from The Mountain Goats? If you guessed you'd end up with brainy alt-rock, you'd have guessed right. The new record from The Paranoid Style is full of that stuff, and it's out this week on Bar/None Records.
Roy Buchanan and Danny Gatton-referencing lead single "Tearing the Ticket" is here, as is "A Barrier to Entry", a more rollicking number with a nice guitar hook and sharply observed lyrics by Nelson. "White Wine Whatever" is very Replacements-y, and that makes sense since Elizabeth Nelson wrote liner notes for a recent 'Mats reissue. "Shut Up and Deal" takes that famous line from The Apartment and wraps a twangy hook around it. "Last Rites for the Comeback Kid" is down-tempo and pleasant, as is the title track, a New Wave-ish number.
The Paranoid Style is centered around Elizabeth Nelson, writer and journalist. Among those joining her in The Paranoid Style are Matt Douglas from the Mountain Goats and Peter Holsapple from The dB's. You can hear how both of those bands' sounds informed what The Paranoid Style is after. The tunes here are full of strong guitar hooks, and are all sort of talky like the Goats stuff.
Elizabeth Nelson largely succeeds in putting a uniquely brainy spin on familiar American college rock styles, with songs which reference a lot of familiar stuff. Nelson blends classic rock tropes, a variety of sonic moods, and lyrics which are both trenchant and heartfelt in equal measure. The proposition of alt-rock with this kinda mix of intellect and heart is a good one, and it's what makes this album from The Paranoid Style a winning proposition.
Known Associates by The Paranoid Style is out this week via Bar/None Records.
You learn more about The Paranoid Style via their Bandcamp page.
The Paranoid Style is playing D.C. on February 27 with site faves Dot Dash. Details here.
[Photo: Tad Unreasonable]