Darling New Neighbors

Rocket

DNN isn’t afraid to start a food fight, throwing it all at the wall to see what splats on its second LP. The Austin trio’s genre-skipping once again produces 1980s love, country, doo-wop, and punk, quirked up by Elizabeth Jackson’s violin and accordion. There’s sweet, like “Boys in Cars,” accented by Jackson’s honeyed, hiccuped vocals. There’s the sexual, like “Take It,” on which she instructs, “Show me what you got.” Slow jams (“Pining”) mix with punk (“Electrolux”), and the fridge never gets too empty; the core trio manages eclecticism with small doses of humor. Rocket‘s more rockin’ than 2006 debut Every Day Is Saturday Night, plus its accordion take on Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” is quite charming. There’s something distinctly old-school Austin about DNN: It keeps it loose and casual, then cleans up the mess with gusto. (CD release: Carousel Lounge, Saturday, Aug. 22.)

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This article appears in July 31 • 2009.

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