Death By Sexy (CD)

Eagles of Death Metal lay down some heavy retro jams on Death By Sexy. Oh, and just in case it's not obvious by their name and their album title, one quick listen to the tracks should convince you that Eagles of Death Metal don't take any of this very seriously -- and that's a good thing.

The EoDM are a collective of musicians featuring Jesse "Boots Electric" Hughes and Josh "Baby Duck" Homme. With a host of hot shot rock and roll pals in their corner (like Jack Black, Mark Lanegan and Brody Dalle), this product of the California desert was born from the idea that if the country rock of the Eagles and head-banging death metal were thrown into the blender, it would yield this mash-up of styles (though the band also takes its cues from other sounds from the rock and roll pantheon).

"I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News)" borrows from the rock and roll classic, "Summertime Blues." "I Gotta Feeling (Just Nineteen)" takes a tip from T-Rex as it chugs on down the line. "Cherry Cola" seems as if it's a nod to the high note vocalizing of brotherly art rockers, Sparks.

"I Like To Move In The Night" borrows a lick (or two) from Keith Richards while the falsetto vocals keep it pretty clearly in the land of parody. The EoDM don't so much write songs as they cop licks and phrases, tossing them into their mixmaster and seeing what comes out. Nowhere is that more obvious than on "Solid Gold" which features beats and blips of common and familiar phrases (like "make you sweat," "work it out baby" and "we're really rollin'"). Sometimes groovealicious rock and roll all comes down to the way things are strung together.

"Don't Speak (I Came To Make A Bang)" is a send up of the blues, the way Jon Spencer Blues Explosion might tackle it. "Keep Your Head Up" has a bit of '70s rock strut to it. "The Ballad of Queen Bee And Baby Duck" is a self-referential tune about Joshua "Baby Duck" Homme and his woman "Queen B" (aka Brody Dalle of The Distillers).

"Chase the Devil" is some country blues via an obscure vintage rockabilly record (the kind of the thing the Cramps have been doing for years). "Eagles Goth" isn't far from what Jack and Meg of the White Stripes lay down (till it gets to the "spooky" goth effects laid on top). "Shasta Beast" may or may not refer to an animal native to the mountainous region of California, though it definitely heeds the call of the wild! "Bag O' Miracles" is a true acoustic blues, albeit a tiny slip of a tune. The handclap and whistlin' vibe is a perfect way to take the album to a close.

The Eagles of Death Metal may've started as a lark but as they continue to record, they just might be on to something. Like their motto says: "Spread the Peace, Love & Death Metal."

By Daisy Duarte