Pearlene

Remember the last time a record really took you by surprise? When an album came out of nowhere and bit you on the ass with its awesomeness? I must admit it’s been a while for me but maybe that’s because I had no idea who Pearlene were before throwing this on. Hailing from Cincinnati, OH, Pearlene is a psychedelic soul and boogie quartet that obviously knows their early ’70s Stones, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, and the Beatles’ White Album inside out. For Western Violence appears to be their third album overall but first with a solid line-up. The core of the band have always been guitarist Ruben Glaser and bassist Jesse Ebaugh but now with piano/organist Andrew Higley and drummer Andrew Jody as fulltime members, Glaser’s songs rip out of the speakers in a manner that screams to be heard. The barroom piano that ushers in album opener "Hosannah” lets you know that something special is about to happen and happen it does. This is about the most exciting record to come out of the Cincinnati rock scene since the Afghan Whigs in their heyday — it’s that good — and not surprisingly, the album was captured to tape by a former Whig, John Curley. Highly addictive, if you’re looking for something new that sounds like it could have been recorded in 1972 but was mysteriously stashed away only to be rediscovered and championed decades later, hunt this one down and support Pearlene in the here and now.