Jon Langford and Kat Ex
(Carrot Top Records)
When singing out on "Moonscape" - one of the tracks from the barebones KatJonBand album - Jon Langford and Kat Ex could just as easily be referring to either one of their fulltime gigs as the collaboration at hand: "Deal with the skeleton/ Forget the surface".
Neither musician comes from a pedigree with much use for beating around the bush, musically or lyrically. He is the front man for The Mekons (and Waco Brothers, Pine Valley Cosmonauts). She is the drummer for The Ex. And even if their respective bands hadn't shared histories, political beliefs and (occasionally) lofts, they'd still be a match made in heaven.
Langford's rough 'n tumble guitar work sits wonderfully up against Ex's leveled grit behind the set. Spawned from an impromptu set in 2004 and ensuing tour in 2005, KatJonBand has vigor belying the years of experience between the two creators. If there were a fraction of justice in the world, stoned teenagers across the country would be working out the chords to album opener "Do You?" or "Crackheads Beware" in low-ceiling, dingy basements.
"There's been a twist/ I used to be invisible/ But now you've discovered I exist," Langford sings on the latter, KatJonBand's would-be post-punk anthem. Just as quickly though, he dismisses the hangers-on, sending them back where they belong: "Howlin' along/ To a popular song".
It's quite a kiss-off made all the more intriguing by the song's simultaneous hook. Langford and Ex - a pair as wily as they are witty - sneak in bits on colonialism, personal freedoms (Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pit and Angelina Jolie all get a surprising name-check) and other topical fare, all wrapped in a ragged pop package.
Even "Bad Apples" - on which the pair recalls Jefferson Airplane's moodier psychedelics - ends up sort of catchy in its own, spaced-out way. Granted both artists have polished up over time. But with KatJonBand, Langford and Ex give a strong reminder as to why punk is not merely a sound, genre or style of dress - it's a frame of mind, and one they still very much believe in.
Standout Tracks: "Do You", "Conquered", "Crackheads Beware" ZACHARY HERRMANN
