Las Vegas Mercury review of "Tango with the Man"
The Displaced
Tango with The Man
At the beginning of 2003, Jen Jansen and Simon Mandel loaded up their Astro Van and set out for Las Vegas on a professed mission to bolster the local music scene. This, of course, was no easy task, and as the pair packs up to return to San Diego, the scene remains in essentially the same mess they found it in.
Which isn’t to say they haven’t developed as a band during their brief stint in our concrete wonderland. Quite the contrary, on Tango with The Man—Jansen and Mandel’s third self-produced EP as The Displaced—they finally step out from the shadow of The Pixies and stake their claim as potent songwriters and performers. Ironically, the record opens with its weakest track, “The Lights in the Driveway”—a straight-ahead, Breeders-esque rocker that neglects the dynamic tension between the two singers. Fortunately, “Straight X” sets the pace for the rest of the album, layering Jansen’s soulful yowl on top of Mandel’s prickly lead vocals.
But not until “Salt and Alcohol” does The Displaced display its full potential. Over a steady bass line, Jansen and Mandel bemoan an “evil eye” before their dream-like reverie explodes into a flurry of distortion and punchy rhythms. From there, the record takes an unexpectedly dark turn on “Grizzled Greg” before closing with the burly concert staple “Gold Ties.” While the entire experience clocks in at less than 20 minutes, you get the sense this may be the album that finally scores The Displaced a record deal. Too bad they won’t be around for us to see it.—Newt Briggs
The Displaced plays their final shows as Las Vegans at Café Espresso Roma and the Cooler Lounge on Nov. 8 with Minneapolis’ Houston. Roma: 9:30 p.m., $5, 369-1540. Cooler: 1 a.m., $5, 646-3009.
