A few weeks ago I covered an artist named Alejandro Escovedo, a Texas singer-songwriter who has been around since the early seventies. I’ve recently listened to the album The Pawn Shop Years and it’s fantastic. The band was named after the T. Rex song Buick MacKane and I see the similarities.
They formed in 1989 and began recording songs for the album that would be released in 1997. They mostly played around Austin and they were a mix between garage and glam rock…and it sounds great. Escovedo had just broken up with his band The True Believers when all of this happened. They were popular in Austin and they had some trouble with people accepting Buick MacKane because they thought it would be The True Believers part two.
If you want to hear a 1990s rock album that sounds like the early seventies…this is the one. Instead of checking out a few songs…check out the album. I’ve posted two songs by them to give you a hint. These guys are not going to give you lush ballads…every song is turned up to 11. They use feedback in many of the songs and it’s so refreshing to hear that. I missed these guys in the 90s but…better late than never.
My only disappointment with this band is that they didn’t make any more albums. I’ve never messed with Spotify much but I thought I would post a link to their album at the bottom.
Rick Reger, Chicago Tribune: “A part-time project recorded over three years by musicians who passionately care about the fact that they’re having a great time in the process, ‘The Pawn Shop Years’ comes, conquers and destroys with far more devastating effect than many a self-important hard rock band purporting to do this for a living.”
Sorry…I could not find the lyrics.
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