Alejandro Escovedo - Burn Something Beautiful album review

Peter Buck collaborates with embattled punk veteran

Cover art for Alejandro Escovedo - Burn Something Beautiful album

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A hurricane that threw half his honeymoon house into the sea added post-traumatic stress disorder to Alejandro Escovedo’s hepatitis C, leading to a year away from music. Peter Buck, wrestling his own postR.E.M. demons, was ready to resume work on this album when Escovedo resurfaced. It fights the jaded sentiment of Buck co-write I Don’t Want To Play Guitar Any More by renewed faith in the instrument, defiantly throwing rock’n’roll shapes and mining rock’n’roll memories. Feedback maestro Buck leads the layers of exultant guitar ideas, such as the T.Rex riffs deep in the mix of Shave The Cat, and they help Escovedo drink deep of his sources to climb back into the light.

Nick Hasted

Nick Hasted writes about film, music, books and comics for Classic Rock, The Independent, Uncut, Jazzwise and The Arts Desk. He has published three books: The Dark Story of Eminem (2002), You Really Got Me: The Story of The Kinks (2011), and Jack White: How He Built An Empire From The Blues (2016).