While their previous collaboration was an interesting record, the new album from Luke Haines & Peter Buck is a more fully-realized thing indeed. The addition of the R.E.M. guitarist's friends from Filthy Friends, drummer Linda Pitmon and bassist Scott McCaughey, gives All The Kids Are Super Bummed Out the weight of a proper band album. And while Buck sounds energized, the former Auteurs front-man is positively on fire here.
Stuff like "Skies are Full of Insane Machines" recalls "Light Aircraft on Fire" from The Auteurs, as you can imagine, even as "Subterranean Earth Angel Stomp" continues Haines' obession with glam. It's a fine racket, as is "45 Revolutions", a Fall-ish bit of business. The players here invest this all with a grim fire, such that even a languid gem like "Won't Even Get Out of Bed" has an air of insolence about it. And while "Minimalist House Burns Down" and "The British Army on LSD" hark back to "Kenneth Anger's Bad Dream" and "21st Century Man" from earlier in Haines' career in terms of tone, mood, and style, the contributions of Buck, Pitmon, and McCaughey go a long way towards giving this material new flavors. And given that, I think this is the best Luke's sounded in ages, frankly, as his talents here are met with that of his peers, and the results are pushed in cool directions.
All the Kids are Super Bummed Out is, of course, more Haines' show than Buck's, but that's not to downplay how crucial the riffs are here, and how textured the entire album seems. For the many moments that felt familiar to me as a long-time Haines fan, there were hooks or instrumental flourishes that felt like fresh spins on the usual formula of my favorite misanthrope. The whole lengthy album purrs with a wit and cleverness that is equal to the mischief raised by Luke's Baader Meinhof project, only without quite so much heaviness. Like I said, this is one of the strongest releases from Luke Haines in ages, and fans will likely find lots to love here.
All the Kids are Super Bummed Out is out today via Cherry Red Records.