Judy Blank

This record is all kink and no shame, says Adam Weiner of ART DEALERS, the tough, sexy and tender new album coming from Low Cut Connie. With Low Cut Connie, I try to create a safe space for you to just absolutely get your freak on.For years now, Low Cut Connie has built its grassroots coalition of oddballs, underdogs, and fun-lovingweirdos with songs that celebrate life on the fringes of polite society. The bands infamously wild, passionate live shows provide a total release - of stress, of inhibition, of shame - working up a primordial rock n roll sweat for fans to get blissfully soaked in. The new album, and its full-length companion film, sizzle with that same cathartic sweat, reminding us that its time to get dirty again, and to feel alive. ART DEALERS sits at the intersection of sleazy and soulful - a collection of risky, romantic, life-affirming anthems, all dedicated to you.I think rock n roll exists to be a red-blooded, countercultural medium, says Weiner, who has performed under the Low Cut Connie moniker for over a decade, Youre supposed to get your hair messed-up. That imperative comes through in the adults-only tone of songs like the opening Tell Me Something I Dont Know, a sinuous, lurid rocker that sounds like walking through depraved Times Square in 1978 - neon-lit and nasty with a snapping beat. The speedy, fuzzed-up garage-rocker Whips and Chains calls out Trump and the current wave of neo-fascism, without ever losing its boogie rhythm section.But theres also tenderness behind the curtain here, as on the yearning first single Are You Gonna Run? and Call Out My Name, which evoke the sweet sad love that punky boys like the New York Dolls and the Ramones used to have for tough girls like the Ronettes and the Shangri-Las.