Flat Duo Jets: Lucky Eye

An appearance in a documentary with R.E.M. would seem like a dream come true for a struggling young band. Not so for Chapel Hill's top rockabilly twosome, Flat Duo Jets. The group bounced from tiny label to tiny label for 11 years after appearing in Athens, Ga.: Inside/Out, and is only now finding decent distribution. Hopefully, with its first major-label release, Flat Duo Jets can finally get some of the rewards it's long deserved. To hear Lucky Eye's title track, you'd think vocalist Dexter Romweber was possessed by the spirit of Screamin' Jay Hawkins; in the song, Romweber growls and groans, seemingly unable to form a complete sentence. A few songs later, he's crooning like an off-kilter orch-pop hopeful. Regardless of the source material, the intentions are simple: Romweber and drummer Crow want to move you, whether it's with full-on rockabilly boogie, mellow twist, or dreamy slow-dance. And move you they do. From the oddly romantic "Lonely Guy" to the laid-back strut of "Hustle And Bustle," the band squeezes every song for its maximum movement potential. At its best, it's great. "Go This Way" is lyrically melancholy and compounded by string arrangements, but it still has a butt-shaking factor that can't be ignored. For long-time fans, Lucky Eye may be a bit of a shake-up: Where once there was bare-bones guitar-and-drums instrumentation, there is now a full assortment of instruments, including the occasional horn or string section. But Lucky Eye is half great, half good, and all rock 'n' roll. Intentions don't get more pure than this.