Skip to main content[ROCK AND ROLL] As music writers, we often ask stupid questions. "Whatever happened to rock and roll?" is one that comes up. Because, while we're inundated with folk pop, indie rock and twee, sensitive songs packed to the mittens with xylophone and Casio, it's rare that a straight-up rock record crosses our desks. The Villains' Meat, as it happens, is a rock record.
But let's back up. The truth is, we kinda do know what happened to rock music: It got bigger than its britches. It went prog and operatic and experimental and so forth. Pink Floyd happened. Queen happened. The Clash happened. Radiohead happened. All of which left good ol' rock and roll—your mental picture of which should be David Lee Roth, in an open leather vest and pink tights with the butt cut out, singing the stranger chunks of "Running With the Devil" in a studio booth—alone at the altar of public opinion.
And now that rock and roll is largely dead, or zombiefied by shaved-headed, tribal-tattooed tough guys surrounded by chrome, it's become a subgenre so rare we usually spell it R-A-W-K and snicker to ourselves at its lack of authenticity.
The Villains don't have that problem. Not to say the band is influenced exclusively by music you'd hear while riding the Zipper: The Villains own up to a boner for the White Stripes, which manifests itself more in guitar tone than spirit; and I swear I hear some Sublime in Meat's funkier numbers. But at Meat's, er, bone, is a desire to tune in, turn up and rock out.
And to that end, Meat is a huge success. Tracks like "A Fine Time" and "I'll Be Leavin'" showcase a fine balance of chops and songwriting skill. The trio—despite warnings to the contrary from inside its ranks—is exceedingly tight. Most importantly, Jay Cobb Anderson is a honest-to-goodness frontman. He's got a little David Lee Roth in him, actually, though modern listeners might compare his vocals to those of Kings of Leon's Caleb Followill. Anderson is a slyly acrobatic singer, and though (unlike Roth) he's always stuck holding a guitar in performance, the energy is there.
Despite the promise of a fine record, it'll be a rough road ahead: At least a half-dozen bands call themselves the Villains, and sooner or later this one will probably have to change that name to survive. On top of that, Portland doesn't often take kindly to blues rock, and these boys may not have the blue-collar fashion sense to blend into the garage-rock scene. It'll take tons of touring to get this thing off the ground. But hell, it's a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll, and these guys already got out of Idaho. Perhaps the Villains are not to be fucked with.
The Villains play Berbati's Pan on Wednesday, Dec. 23, with the Bellboys. 9 pm. $5. 21+.
WWeek 2015
