Ace and the Ragers
Light This Sucker Up
Appeared in Cleveland Scene Magazine, November 12, 1998
A few years and several local releases back, the fact that a band played swing, rockabilly, or some strage cabaret combination
of the two was enough to set it apart from he crowd, and not much in-depth analysis was needed. They were... well, different.
Now that the Voodoo Daddies and Nutty Squirrel Zippers are dropping out of the trees, some serious discussion as to what is
good and bad within the genre is in order. And in short, Ace and the Ragers, judging from their new release, are a few notches above
incredible. From the lyrical bombast of "Let's Move" to the genuinely youthful, innocent rendering "Christine," The Ragers seem
oblivious to the idea that there's even a retro resurgance going on.
With omnipresent sax, unrelenting rhythms, and lyrics like When I get you alone, don't know what I'm gonna do/I'm gonna
kiss your little lips until I turn em black and blue ("Little Lizzy") and She don't
care for parties/She don't go to shows/She don't care if it's forty below/She wants to take off all of her clothes
("Boom Shanga Langa"), the impression is that these guys came out of the womb doing
this stuff.
More than having the rockabilly groove down cold vocally, musically, and in pure attitude, they manage to bring all the humor,
fury, and romance that the music demands without stooping in the least to histrionics or novelty.
Simply put, either Ace and the Ragers are the best actors in Northeast Ohio or, even more frighteningly, they're the most
authentic roots rock band to surface in years. Which shouldn't serve to impress many music minded musicologists, but for those
who dig dirty sax, tribal percussion, clean tremeloed guitar leads, and crazed, unrepentant tunage with a dash of clever seasoning,
Light This Sucker Up is a four-course delight that's tough to beat. Somebody pass the Tabasco.--Brian Lisek
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