Supergroups and political records both have rather specific pluses and minuses. For supergroups, the incredible parts that make up them are a big plus; them being less than the sum of those parts is the minus. For political records, the issues give a relevant power, but they also can sound like screeds. Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney and Peter Buck of R.E.M., along with great supporting players such as utility supporting alt-star Scott McCaughey (QRO interview), team up as Filthy Friends on Emerald Valley.
First things first & second things seconds: Valley comes off as primarily a Tucker record, since she does the singing, and it’s definitely a political record. Issues tackled include farming (the title track), oil pipelines (“Pipeline”), logging (“The Elliott”), family separation (“Angels”), and, yes, Trump (“November Man”). Some takes are better than others – “Angels” is maudlin, but “November Man” is the rare catchy anti-Trump song. More importantly to the listener (if not the voter), there’s a strong grit-rock behind a number of the pieces (like the good earth of “Emerald Valley”). There are even songs that work without the politics, such as the uplifting rock to “Only Lovers Are Broken”.
Filthy Friends aren’t gonna be Sleater-Kinney or R.E.M. (but no one will, or should be). And Emerald Valley ain’t gonna tip the scales in 2020. But it’s a supergroup & political record that works.
