The Saints - Nothing Is Straight In My House (CD)

All Music Guide

Since 1997's Howling, Chris Bailey has been working hard to reestablish The Saints's reputation as a tough, hardedged rock and roll band after a string of poporiented albums in the 1980's, and 2005's Nothing Is Straight In My House takes a further step in the right direction by pairing Bailey with one of the best guitarists in Australian rock, Marty WillsonPiper of the Church. While Nothing Is Straight In My House is a far cry from the punkflavored assault of (I'm) Stranded, the pounding opening salvo of "Porno Movies" shows WillsonPiper knows how to confidently make with the crunch, while drummer Pete Wilkinson and bassist Caspar Wijnberg set up a menacing throb in the background. While Bailey does throw in a few midtempo numbers along the way, such as the folkrock influenced "I Couldn't Help Myself" and "Garden Dark, the good news is "Bang On", "Paint The Town Electric" and "Nylon Pirates" find the Saints rocking out with smarts, swagger and supreme confidence, and Chris Bailey is ...once again producing the sort of sneering vocals that made him a contender back in the day. Bailey is also writing up to his best standard on this set, and while the overly clean production sometimes holds the band back, the fact is this album rocks, and when it comes to the Saints, that's always good news. Great stuff. - Mark Deming, All Music Guide Read more Less