Jon Spencer has long been accused of being all show and no go, a saucy rock and roll wild child with an undeniable stage presence but questionable musical integrity. His work under the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion moniker, while vibrant and catchy, still felt a bit too gimmicky and over stylized. He's got a love affair with all things old school and retro, particularly bluegrass, country, first wave punk and garage rock, but he leans too heavily on his messy musical lineage, resulting in a copy and paste feel to the bulk of his output.

If Spencer's latest project, Heavy Trash, proves anything, it's that old habits die hard. Comprised of the one-two combo of Spencer and fellow guitar slinger Matt Verta Ray, the duo's self-titled debut is — don't hold your breath — a throwback to the down and dirty blues, rockabilly and rowdy noise rock they hold so dear to their greaser hearts. But there's a hint that maybe Spencer's louder, more chaotic days are behind him. Heavy Trash still has a focused sense of genre bending eclecticism to it, but it's much more refined and rootsy, as Spencer and Ray tone down the dial in favor of a more stripped down acoustic approach.

The record's traditionalist bent is established early on with "Dark Hair'd Rider," a dusty country cut tinged with splashes of 50s rock and roll flavor in the vein of Carl Perkins. The echoed vocals and under dubbed production of the song (and the record as a whole) is fitting, providing a rustic and quirky old fashioned aura that makes the record feel at home with its musical ancestry. "Justine Alright" is an interesting mix and match of seemingly un-meshable musical influences, but then again that's always been Spencer's claim to fame. The song's verses and intro scream Eddie Cochran, while the chorus draws from more street tough acts like the Stooges and the New York Dolls.

While the core of the record centers around the nuclei of Spencer and Ray, collaboration plays an integral role in filling out the album's sound. A virtual revolving door of session players, including drummer Dave Varenka, organ player Daniel Collas and Paul Dugan on stand up bass, smooth out and touch up the album's grey areas and loop holes.

Spencer isn't making any headway on Heavy Trash in terms of establishing himself as an innovate songwriter, but at this point it could be argued that he doesn't really care, nor has he ever. He may delve deep down in the archives for material, but he's having fun doing it, and his relentless energy and playfulness do wonders towards offsetting his penchant for rummaging through rock history.

Grade: AB

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on April 21 2005.