Happy 20th Anniversary to The Von Bondies’ second studio album Pawn Shoppe Heart, originally released March 9, 2004.
My days of being a 21-year-old, just on the brink of adulthood, do not seem as though they were twenty years ago. It feels like only three or four baseball seasons have passed since the days when a weekend consisted of throwing a blazer on over a Billie Holiday or Led Zeppelin t-shirt to spend an evening amongst a sea of Von Dutch apparel and bulky belt buckles, seeking out a girl probably adorned in a baby doll dress over blue jeans with pointy high heels.
Looking back at my sparse party days of 2004, the nightlife was sometimes insufferable in clubs where the popularity could range from crunk hip-hop to several of the long string of hits pumped out by Nickelback during any given deejay set at the time. One movement that emerged during this era to satisfy not only my musical taste buds, but seemingly the masses’ as well, was the garage rock revival that produced bands like The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, and of course, The Von Bondies.
Looking back, the label “garage rock” was kind of an umbrella term for all of the bands during that period whose names mostly began with “The,” wore skinny ties, and made cool upbeat music that emphasized relatively simple power chords and guitar riffs with catchy choruses. With two decades having zipped by, revisiting the peak years of that subgenre will show that there are indeed some gems to be rediscovered, and I believe The Von Bondies’ aptly titled sophomore studio album and major-label debut Pawn Shoppe Heart is at the top of the list.
Detroit has a decades’ long and nearly unrivaled legacy of being fertile soil for innovative American music. The birthplace of Motown Records, Detroit manufactured the modern concept of rhythm & blues, along with pop music throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s and produced some of the biggest names in music across all genres. With the garages of the Detroit suburbs and surrounding areas serving as some of the initial labs for artists such as The Stooges and MC5, garage punk was another movement to add to the list of subgenres with deep roots in the Motor City. Following the success of fellow Detroit-based band The White Stripes, whose frontman Jack White produced The Von Bondies’ debut LP Lack of Communication (2001), The Von Bondies had emerged as fully capable flag bearers of Detroit’s proud garage punk banner by 2004.
Listen to the Album:
Released by Sire Records and produced by The Modern Lovers and Talking Heads keyboard and guitarist Jerry Harrison, Pawn Shoppe Heart apparently set out to cement The Von Bondies among Detroit royalty. From the initial riff, the album shows its intent to get the chip off its shoulder, opening with a guitar growl as powerful as the rev of a 1960s Detroit muscle car. The album opener “No Regrets” sets the tone immediately, with frontman Jason Stollsteimer convincingly proclaiming, “No you really haven’t lived life yet / if you ain’t got no regrets.” From “No Regrets” through the close of the album, The Von Bondies take you on an exciting and mostly fast-paced journey through their rugged terrain, to write another chapter of Detroit’s storied musical legacy.
The LP’s lead single “C’mon C’mon” is The Von Bondies’ most recognizable song. Not only standing out from the other songs on the album, but serving as the official theme song for the FX Comedy/Drama Rescue Me. Although “C’mon C’mon” is remembered for its commercial success in being an opening theme for a successful TV series and being showcased on multiple video games at the time, the lyrics do offer testament to Stollsteimer as a gifted writer and very relevant voice of the time.
“Mairead” is one of the more bluesy tracks on the LP, highlighting not only Stollsteimer’s vocal delivery, but the all-around chemistry of the band. Pawn Shoppe Heart offers plenty of fun, another example is “Not that Social” where the band’s bassist Carrie Ann Smith takes on lead vocals.
Looking back, Pawn Shoppe Heart resides among the top tier of the albums released during the run of the garage rock revival movement of the mid-2000s. The band had a point to prove, stepping out of the shadow of The White Stripes. Stollsteimer in particular rose to the occasion, delivering a timelessly recognizable hit “C’mon C’mon” and a fluid LP full of punk aggression, evident in the persuasive power chords and convincing vocals. The band seemed to come of age at the same time as the garage rock revival paradigm and many of us listeners who were keen to reach back to rock movements of past decades.
Dusting off The Von Bondies’ second LP is very satisfying and stands out among some of the catchier albums of that era. It’s a gem left to be rediscovered, like a vintage leather jacket tucked away inside a smalltown pawn shop.
Listen: