DUST GALAXY - DUST GALAXY
Fans of Thievery Corporation’s lushly textured downtempo might be surprised to find the production duo’s Rob Garza sounding more crunchy than smooth on this, his first solo release, and his first as a frontman. Handing the production reins to Primal Scream’s Brendan Lynch, Garza erases almost all electronic marks from the album’s 11 songs, relying instead on a band with live instruments. “River of Ever Changing Forms” boasts a swirling sitar solo; “Sons of Washington” wags a finger at corrupt politicos with a reggae pulse. “Overhead” is as straight-ahead rock as things get, and it’s refreshing in its simplicity, like seeing a great band in a local bar. Garza’s voice is the weakest link: He sounds like an undergrad doing karaoke to the Afghan Whigs. But the intimacy of a songwriter singing his own songs nearly makes up for it.
