Hymn for Her - Lucy & Wayne's Smokin Flames (2013)

Continuing the journey into trash begun on 2010's Lucy & Wayne & the Amairican Stream, Hymn for Her's third album Lucy & Wayne's Smokin' Flames finds the duo acting like a purist hybrid of White Stripes and the Kills. Lucy & Wayne have more than a bit of Jack White's hammy schtick, but where White just called out to his sister Meg, Lucy & Wayne trade their call and response, conjuring a little bit of the Kills' volatile chemistry. But where Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince are obsessed with the present -- Hince dates Kate Moss, so by definition he has to be engaged with fashion -- Lucy & Wayne anchor all their rocking on acoustic guitars, overdubbing fuzzed-out freakouts and slide guitars to the bedrock strumming and plucking. The end result blares and distorts, often to invigorating effect, because it's hard not get swept up by a blitzkrieg blast of blues noise. Every so often, a trace of affect can be heard -- Wayne's wannabe Howlin' Wolf growl on "Lucy Fur" is the most egregious -- but the duo compensates with moments of delicacy ("Burn This") and parched, atmospheric desert rock ("Mojave," "Chemicals") that have a widescreen western sweep neither the Stripes or the Kills ever attempted. This sense of dusty drama distinguishes Hymn for Her, and helps make Smokin' Flames a bit of trashy blues-rock worth exploring.~Stephen Thomas Erlewine