ALUN PIGGINS Awaken The Snakes (AML Records) Rating: NNNN Rating: NNNN
Back with a more rocking set than 2000’s folksy Balladesque, Piggins plugs in but keeps the songs tight and well under his masterful control. The ex-Morganfields singer/songwriter has spent time behind the studio console with Sloan, Blue Rodeo and Godspeed You Black Emperor!, and his skill as a knob-twirler helps to make this a great-sounding album. Alun gets help from two of his old bandmates, Jay Santiago and Mike Pond, and Oh Susanna joins in for a couple, including the excellent duet Let’s Get It On. Other highlights of this exceptional album include Spark and Bottled Up, which should convince you that the comparisons to Dylan and REM are not unjust.
Catch Alun Piggins and the Quitters at C’est What on January 3.
