Ryan Adams and the Cardinals
III/IV
Pax Am
[Three and a half stars]
Jan 27, 2011
Around 2006, prolific, hard-drugging singer-songwriter Ryan Adams cleaned up and began spitting out even more music. III/IV is 21 songs from 2007’s Easy Tiger sessions, supplanting that album’s wired folk rock with a blend of punk head rush, New Wave twitch, metal crunch and hippie noodling. ”˜The Crystal Skull’ is Morrissey with a girlfriend; ”˜Ultraviolet Light’ posits Ian Curtis fronting the Byrds. Does it cohere? Please. Just tighten your scarf and savour the storm.
Key Tracks: ”˜Numbers,’ ”˜Users,’ ”˜Dear Candy,’ ”˜Kill the Lights’
