The Fat Angel Sings

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From the album ‘Do to the Beast’, out now on Sub Pop Records, Reunion albums suck. And reunion albums with only two original members plus hired hands and special guests really suck, right? Not always. Do To The Beast is the first Afghan Whigs album in 16 years, and features just singer Greg Dulli and bassist John Curley from their ’90s lineup. But it’s as vital as Congregation, Gentlemen or anything else from the halcyon days. The bruising guitar riffs of “Parked Outside,” “Matamoros” and “Royal Cream” prove the band’s swagger is seemingly inexhaustible. Beast is also an eclectic work, reflecting Dulli’s love for all things cinematic. “It Kills” and “Lost In The Woods” are darkly dramatic piano ballads. “Algiers” heads into spaghetti-Western territory. Throughout, Dulli finds new angles for his pet themes of obsessive love, Catholic guilt and deadly crimes. (“If my desire for your company/Made this motherfucker point his gun at me” is a pretty typical lyric.) The band subtly blends in its soul and hip-hop influences through the assertive strut of the rhythms and the alpha-male vulnerability in Dulli’s voice.