Album Review: Emerald Valley by Filthy Friends

It shouldn't surprise anyone that a band with Corin Tucker on lead vocals would have a strong political bent, and that was certainly the case with 2017's Invitation, the first album from Filthy Friends, her supergroup side project with Peter Buck from R. E. M.

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There was a time back in the 1990s in the Pacific Northwest music scene when star-studded side projects were practically ordinary, such as Temple of the Dog (featuring members of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam ) and Mad Season (Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Screaming Trees ). Another one of those was The Minus 5 , and some of the central figures from that rotating cast of characters - Peter Buck (R. E.

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The Lowdown: Touted as a supergroup when their debut longplayer, Invitation, appeared in 2017, Filthy Friends seemed less like the gathering of bloated egos that word implies and more like an team of efficient professionals. Led by singer Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney and former R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, the quintet's grown-up (i.e., less-abrasive) take on garage rock obviously boasted an impressive pedigree, while fellow guitarist Kurt Bloch, bassist Scott McCaughey, and drummer Bill Rieflin had all crossed paths with Buck in numerous ventures, among them The Minus 5, The Baseball Project and Robyn Hitchcock's Venus 3.

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Along with Wild Flag and the Good, the Bad & the Queen, Filthy Friends is one of a roster of supergroups assembled this decade from the scattered members of '90s alternative rock bands. Founded in 2016, just before the latest presidential election, the group formed around Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney and Peter Buck of R.E.M., splicing together two of the college-radio era's most inventive and energetic acts. Their music sounds like you'd expect, given its genealogy: crisp, guitar-driven indie rock with blues bones, adorned by sunny vocal harmonies.

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