Dexter Romweber is a musician with a distinct vision that hasn't failed him yet in the years since
the Flat Duo Jets emerged on the scene in the mid-'80s --
Romweber is possessed by a passionate love of American roots music that encompasses rock & roll, rockabilly, jazz, country, movie and TV themes, and anything else that radiates cool and translates to the guitar. Released in 2014,
Images 13 is credited to
the Dexter Romweber Duo, featuring
Dexter on guitar and his sister Sara Romweber on drums (a format that recalls
the Flat Duo Jets in their prime), and while this music is a bit less manic than the glory days of
the FDJs, the approach and the thinking behind it are very much the same -- primal roots music played with streetwise virtuosity but few frills, and a genuine love of that which evokes cool above all else. From the reverb-soaked film noir mood of "Blackout!" and the spooky atmospherics of "Weird (Aurora Borealis)" to the relentless pound of "Blue Surf" and the raunchy strut of "Roll On," every tune on
Images 13 conjures up a special flavor of its own, and
Dexter knows how to bend his estimable skills to the needs of the song, while Sara's drumming is solid and versatile, a worthy match for this music.
Images 13 isn't an all-out rock & roll assault, but there are plenty of moments where
Dex and Sara show they still can raise the roof -- particularly a faithfully manic cover of
the Who's "So Sad About Us" -- and pretty much everything here will sound welcome to anyone who has followed
Dexter's career, or generally likes to hear a mad genius rip it up on the guitar. In short,
Images 13 is another
Dexter Romweber album...and over the past three decades, we've learned that's just about always a great thing. ~ Mark Deming