First Look: New Ted Leo Album

Not only is the new Ted Leon & the Pharmacists album Leon's best to date,  it's a strong candidate for one of the finest full-lengths of 2010. Released this week on Matador.

By Ron Hart

"What about the voice of Geddy Lee?" once pondered an indie rock wise man. Well, from the sound of "The Mighty Sparrow", the opening track off The Brutalist Bricks (Matador), the outstanding new album from Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, it seems as though the Washington DC-by-way-of-Brooklyn-by-way-of-North Jersey punk great swallowed it whole (significantly when he hits that high note at the end). But don't think PhX has gone all Rush on us here, kids.

In fact, this taut, tight collection of 13 songs that make up the DNA of The Brutalist Bricks find Leo's trademark indie punk sound getting the major kick in the ass it so desperately needed, especially after 2004's underwhelming Shake The Sheets and 2007's disappointing Living Among The Living left a sour taste in the mouths of fans pining for the glory days of Hearts of Oak.  Elements of folk, only previously touched upon by Leo in the past, are more prominent on several of these tracks, particularly on "Bottled in Cork", a song that laments being an American overseas during the Bush presidency, and the vaguely psychedelic "Tuberculoids Arrive in Hop". Elsewhere, "Mourning In America" employs the faux-electro throb that confirms Leo's recent admittance to being a big Daft Punk fan, while "One Polaroid A Day" offers up the romantic white funk of vintage Orange Juice.  Then, of course, you have your classic PhX rave-ups like "Woke Up Near Chelsea" and "Gimme The Wire", jam-packed with crunchy, four-to-the-floor riffs and Leo's indelible, sentence-busting lyrical agenda tying it all together (albeit glistened with a power pop sheen that is far more Stiff  Records than Dischord).

It sounds as though Teddy boy is out to take over what's left of the rock radio airwaves with The Brutalist Bricks. And, in a perfect world, we'd be hearing songs like "Even Heroes Have To Die" and "Last Days" ad nauseum on the FM dial than Nickelback and the Foo Fighters. Because not only is this his best album to date, it's a strong candidate for one of the finest full-lengths of 2010.  Needless to say, this man is ready for the big time.

[Photo Credit: Ellisa Keller]