Teddy L. is a hero to a handful and admired by most. A D.I.Y.-'til-he-dies
kind of guy, Leo has been gutting it out in places like Ithaca, Duluth and
Grinnell for more than a decade now. It's admirable work he's been
putting in, first with proto pop-punkers Chisel, then brief tours of duty
with The Spinanes and the Sin Eaters, and now with his current band, the
Pharmacists. He remains a staple in East Coast indie rock, thanks to his
soaring, affecting croon that overflows his cleverly constructed,
anti-imperialistic brand of punk. The jangly guitar attack that dominates
most of his music is frighteningly infectious, too. That said, Leo's third
full-length with the Pharmacists is his least addictive recording.
After his semi-breakout into the national consciousness with 2003's Hearts
of Oak, I think some of us were expecting something a bit more adventurous
from Leo. I've seen him in concert five or so times and his live show is
rousing. Whether flying solo or churning it out with a full band, he's got
a manic but professional way on stage. A solo follow-up EP, Tell Balgeary,
Balgury's Dead was an incendiary treatment of Split Enz and Jam covers along with some experimental jamming. The songs on his latest, often about
political ambivalence and soul-searching alienation, are still catchy as
V.D. But they lack the fiery complexity of past efforts.
The album's closer best sums up the traditional aesthetic on Shake the
Sheets. "Walking to Do" is about as conventional musically as Leo has
sounded to date, bomp-bomp-bomping along to a cheery thump, flailing along
to a sing-along coda. It's got everybody from The Coasters to Thin Lizzy to
thank for its sprightly convention, and it's good — very peppy, in fact. But
it lacks the cutting scythe of Hearts of Oak's "The Ballad of the Sin Eater."
"Heart Problems" is a full blast on drug companies that doubles as a
yearning for health in a Fast Food Nation. Despite good intentions, it doesn't
have much staying power. Billy Bragg's influence on Leo shows on the "Better
Dead Than Lead," wherein his voice reaches a fever-pitch squeal. It's by far
the best thing on here, and the closest he gets to his unheralded debut with
the
Pharmacists, The Tyranny of Distance. The previously released "Bleeding
Powers" gets a window treatment and spruced-up lawn job, filled out with a
charging drum track that backs the hopeful, insistent chorus. Fervently
defying our president's intentions, his falsetto swoons "And still you
couldn't let them drown in their own hate no more/ The road leads somewhere
and it's not yet to your door/ And you still see people waiting for the next
excuse for war." It's another highlight.
Shake the Sheets is more competent, reaffirming rock from Ted Leo, but it's
not quite up to snuff compared to his recent efforts. Some have called this album
more direct, without the wordy dillydallying that has alienated Leo from a
broader audience. Me, I'll take the intricate, convoluted Ted any
old time.
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