The Claudettes
4/7/18
MOTR Pub, 1345 Main St, Cincinnati, OH
10pm, Free, 21+
On their head-spinning new album DANCE SCANDAL AT THE GYMNASIUM!, The Claudettes summon early blues, ’60s pop-soul and Cramps-style psychobilly with a set of songs searching for the humanity hidden behind the vitriol, isolation and communication breakdown of the Internet Age. On this new album, produced in glorious throwback style by Grammy-winning Black Keys/Old 97’s producer Mark Neill, The Claudettes introduce the lineup that’s been touring for two years: piano, drums, “Bass VI” guitar and three singers. The touring lineup: Berit Ulseth on vocals, Johnny Iguana on keyboards and vocals, Zach Verdoorn on bass/guitar and vocals and Danny Yost on drums.
The band recorded at Neill’s Soil of the South studio for 10 days, tapping Neill’s vast knowledge and collection of vintage equipment including marxophones, mellotron sounds, rare fuzz pedals and old Gretsch drums and Rickenbacker bass. The stunning sonic results, as Neill colorfully puts it: “Haunted cabaret…David Lynch movie music crossed with Allen Toussaint’s driving piano sound…Like Otis Spann and Mark Sandman from Morphine sitting in with Keely Smith…I love this record, it’s crazy good.”
