Ohio's status as the secret center of the rock & roll has been well established, and this often becomes evident in unexpected ways. As drummer with
the Black Keys,
Patrick Carney has been half of one of the most popular acts to emerge from the Buckeye State in the 21st century with their blues-based excursions into indie rock.
John Petkovic has never enjoyed a payday on a par with
Carney, but as the founding member of
Death of Samantha and
Cobra Verde (and a brief stint with
Guided by Voices), he's got cred to spare as one of Ohio's underground heroes. Bringing
Carney and
Petkovic together has produced some unexpected results, but the finished product is as interesting as you would expect.
Akron, Ohio, the first album from
Carney and
Petkovic's collaborative project
Sad Planets, lacks the bluesy stomp of
the Black Keys or the
Stones-like swagger of
Petkovic's best work; instead, these songs are rooted in a burly fusion of art rock, prog rock, and psychedelia, with grand-scale melodic structures, big guitars and drums, and walls of keyboards that run both with and against the grain of the tunes. (The big guitars get even bigger on the opening track, "Just Landed," which features a guest spot from
J Mascis from
Dinosaur Jr., who also plays in
Petkovic's group
Sweet Apple.) This is music that was conceived and executed on a grand scale, but the attitude behind it is thankfully down to Earth -- ambitious without sounding overblown -- and
Petkovic demonstrates he's a genuinely great rock & roll vocalist whose voice can be bold or subtle and still sound convincing.
Carney's bass, drum, and keyboard work is full-bodied and eloquent, bursting with energy even when the music simmers rather than going on full boil.
Akron, Ohio goes in some unexpected directions, but it's clearly the work of two talented people whose ideas complement each other well, and
Sad Planets is an experiment that pays major musical dividends.