NIXON NOW (Altamont Nation Express) CD
Countless bands, who are trying to imitate the MC5 and/or The Stooges have failed and only a few of them have captured the spirit and energy of both legendary bands. The best of them have taken the essence, and melted it together with an own influence like Radio Birdman, Union Carbide Productions, or Thee Hypnotics for example. But, as I’ve wrote it before – a lot of other groups offer nothing than a lame re-hash of the MC5 / The Stooges back catalogue. NIXON NOW belong not to this category and their second album „Altamont Nation Express“, released by Elektrohasch in 2005, is one of the best Detroit-worshippin rock n‘ roll albums I’ve heard for a while. A few of the included tracks are sounding like lost Stooges gems, and „I Live in a Car“ could’ve been an unreleased outtake from the „Funhouse“ sessions. But the most exciting fact about this disc is, that NIXON NOW still have their own thing going on. Maybe one of the reasons is, that all four band-members have left their teenage years behind long ago, and it’s the overall authenticity which shines through every single riff and beat. Although Detroit’s finest bands left their biggest traces here, NIXON NOW integrated more 60‘s/70‘s influences in their burning and smoking powersound, and so one can find a nice version of Thin Lizzy’s „The Rocker“ here. This is a highly recommandable release, which make you forget all the lame and trendy shit, that is around!
(KK)