Luscious Jackson, Eels
Recording with producer Daniel Lanois, the women of Luscious Jackson have developed a new, more refined attitude for their second album, Fever In Fever Out. The record, a sleeper in more ways than one, is a sort of Connecticut to the TriBeCa of the band's debut (Natural Ingredients) -- still stylish, but politely so. "Live slow, die old," Jill Cunniff coos on "Take a Ride," and her bandmates heed her advice. Openers the Eels are all boys, so they're still indulging in the stage games of pop stardom, dyeing their hair and threatening to play in the nude. What they share with Luscious is a nice feel for subtle dance grooves; on Fever, the women borrow from Marvin Gaye and Earth Wind & Fire, while Gladys Knight & the Pips crop up among the samples on the Eels' crafty debut, Beautiful Freak. There's a bit of the inspired amateur in Eels leader E's keyboard playing, and more than a little in his guitar work. The Luscious ladies shouldn't let themselves grow out of their own amateurism entirely.
-- James Sullivan
Luscious Jackson and the Eels play Saturday, Feb. 15, at 9 p.m. at Bimbo's 365 Club, 1025 Columbus. Tickets are $13-15; call 474-0365.
