AMG Review of Predator

Johnny Loftus
All Music Guide

The rancid stumble of Modey Lemon's "Predator" has been peeled from the carnivorous depths of Thunder + Lightning to lead this EP into dark hallways of dirty thoughts and dirtier grooves. "Tongues (Everybody's Got One)" is here too, in an alternate version. What's different about it? Well, there's less reverb and more electronic squelch -- it's become an acid rock jam for dose-heads. Elsewhere, "Poisonous Ink Clouds" injects blues minimalism with psycho echo lyrics, frantic organ, and Paul Quattrone's usual mind-losing percussion work, while the brief, quieter "Left and Dented" finds Philander Boyd singing detachedly -- almost to himself, or while drifting off to sleep -- over a twisted lullaby of a guitar line and rumbling drums seemingly recorded in an enormous, rusting, and abandoned factory. Modey Lemon hasn't been able to do any wrong on wax, and they certainly don't start with this hunk of crazy.