In 2002, 25 Suaves’ 1938 handed out headaches like roses, and imagined a world ruled by hard rock and shuddering treble. The new I Want it Loud — obviously — is no different, but guitarist/shouter (and Bulb Records mastermind) Pete Larson and his furiously drumming wife Fumi Kawasaki (aka DJ Party Girl) have added ex-Melvins affiliate Dave Sahijdak on bass guitar, making 25 Suaves’ third full-length even more fearsome than the 14,000-foot amplifier leering with four-cone eyes from the front cover. I Want it Loud’s template is made from mid-’70s mudder-rock classics like Bachman Turner Overdrive’s “Not Fragile.” But shots like “Maybe You’re Right,” “Us Against You” and “Let it Burn” add in the weakling-choking rollick of Motörhead, while “Give it Up” and the cheery “You’re Gonna Die” slide sheets of flinty melody between the thrashing, rust-rock slabs. Larson’s lyrics run toward the emphatic, yet limited — “My life is making rock from the underground!” — and the Suaves have few gears beyond “thick” and “stinging.” But I Want it Loud works anyway by relying on old standbys like volume, commitment and a snare drum the size of Greenland. Turn it up, and watch classic rock radio cower behind its Eagles records.
Johnny Loftus writes about music for Metro Times. E-mail letters@metrotimes.com.
