A former editor of mine once cautioned me to avoid using food as a metaphor when writing about music.

"It's just sloppy writing," he'd say, to refer to chords as "meaty," vocals as "syrupy," or drumming as, uh, "ham-fisted." For much of my career I've managed to steer clear of such clich‚s, even when reviewing such tasty morsels as Lambchop or Veal. So maybe it's the protein-deficiency talking, but I can't help but refer to the Constantines' latest EP as anything less than fleshy.

To clarify somewhat, The Modern Sinner... has the grit and fire of a well-done pepper steak with enough gristle left on the bone to chew on for far longer than the disc's twelve-minute running time. Additional gastronomic references could include "soupy" organ riffs and "meat n' potatoes" arrangements. The simple fact of the matter is that these three new cuts from Canada's flavour-du-jour are a rough (like an undercooked pork chop), ragged (like coarsely-chopped cabbage), gritty (like yr mom's scrambled eggs), and raw (like sushi) taste sensation that's sweeping the nation.

See? There's a very valid reason for my ex-editor's advice.

RECOMMENDED TRACKS: "Dirty Business", "Blind Luck"

By Russell Gragg
Apr 27, 2002